


Kifujin: the Noble Woman (aka the Iwatobi Route)

by Ranchod_Tunnell



Series: Free! x3! [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, Female!Reader - Freeform, Free! Eternal Summer, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2018-11-05 06:16:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11007693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ranchod_Tunnell/pseuds/Ranchod_Tunnell
Summary: I'm honestly not sure how to summarize this story as there is way more than one main point going through here so instead I will put an excerpt from what you're likely to read in the next few updates:“So~!” She began.You glanced at her warily even as your lips curled in faint amusement. It was a tone every girl knew by heart and you wondered not what but rather who she had in mind to ask you about, “So what?” You prompt at her cue.“Do you like Makoto or something?” There was an incredible blush on her face and her eyes were bright and hungry. You pretended to be surprised at the insinuation simply because you wanted to see where her thoughts were coming from.“Where ever would you get an idea like that?”





	1. And So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! So this is my latest project and as usual, it's pretty massive. This is actually the last installment of three stories that will be part of this series but--as they are always wont to do--the last always develops first so I figured I'd might as well roll with it. 
> 
> Important things to know! One: you are a girl. I mean, I put that in the tags but yeah, it's worth noting again I guess...  
> Two: I'm trying out a new writing technique with this project where each installment is a reader-insert but not the _same_ reader character if that makes sense. If it doesn't don't worry: by the time I get the other two stories out, it _will_.  
>  Three: Since this is the last in the series, there will be minor details that may not make sense right away. It's intentional as this character was not present for events that happened in the previous stories that you will see when I finish with them...
> 
> And I think that's it for now. I'll add more as I need to but for now, enjoy!

            “So…[Name]…” You blinked your (color) eyes at the sound of your father’s voice and found that you’d zoned out while staring at the frostbitten wind chime on your balcony…You did that a lot now ever since your parents divorced and split up your family.

 

            “Yes, Father?” You replied as you turned your attention to the man settling at the tiny table across from you. Your mother had gotten the house. Your father moved into an apartment. You’d gone with him.

 

            “You’re starting school this week.”

 

            “Yes, I know. It is April after all.” 

 

            “Right, yes, of course,” he nodded and shifted in his seat. You regarded him patiently for a time, wondering what it was he wanted to say, but he never continued. An almost awkward silence settled between you that you did nothing to dispel. It wasn’t like this was particularly surprising. Out of all of your siblings, you were the one your father had the most trouble relating to. You thought it was mostly because you thoroughly confused him—never doing, or liking, or excelling or even failing at the things he expected of you. It would have been cute if the novelty hadn’t long since faded away. Now it just left you feeling largely indifferent to his dilemma…

 

            “Are you excited?” He tried again when it became obvious that he’d lost your attention.

 

            You made a small sound in your throat and shrugged your shoulders lightly, “Not especially. I mean, it’s just school—the same as always.”

 

           It really wasn’t and both of you knew it but you could tell he appreciated your attempt at normalcy by the soft smile he sent you, “I…called your brother and sister home—eh, _here_ , that is…I thought they’d want to come with us to pick up your uniform…”

 

           You perked up a little at that, “Really? When are they coming?”

 

           “I’m not exactly sure. Your brother’s already moved back into the Academy dorms and that’s a good train ride away from this city…I don’t know where your sister is but I imagine she’s not too close by either. It’ll probably be at least a couple hours.”

 

           “That’s fine,” you said and steamrolled ahead to the question you really wanted an answer to. “Is she coming?”

 

           His mouth twisted unpleasantly and you knew then that he was going to try avoiding the subject. Sure enough, he played dumb and asked, “I just told you, Awa-chan--”

 

           “No, Father,” you interrupted as gently as you could. This wasn’t easy for him after all and you knew your question would only increase the sting. “I meant my mother. Did you—Is she…coming, too?”

 

           A telling twitch of his eyebrows and a few stress lines at his cheeks gave you your answer. Your face fell a little before you could catch yourself. Your father noticed and hurried to say, “I’m sure she’ll see you before you start school but she might be a little too busy to come shopping with us this time.”

 

           “Of course,” you agreed simply. You weren’t an idiot. You knew just as well as any other smart teenager trying to milk something from their parents that he was lying.

           He didn’t want her here. He didn’t want to see her. He probably hadn’t even reached out to her and instead called or texted your older sister directly. You knew all that but you still left it alone. Maybe one day when the wounds weren’t still so fresh you could go there with your father and call him out on his mistruths but for now you would stay out of their problems…

 

           “That’s alright. At least Awa and Nesure are coming. That’s enough for me.” You pretended not to notice his sigh of relief or the way his shoulders relaxed after the stress disappeared. He started to speak again but you weren’t in the mood to listen to any more placating. Rising to your feet you smiled—such a common but rarely sincere expression for you—and turned away. “A couple hours’ not as long as we think. I should probably start showering and getting dressed.”

 

           “…” You took his silence as a dismissal and turned to retreat to your room.

 

           “Thank you, [Name].” You heard your father murmur and pretended he was talking about something else.


	2. The Uniform

            “…What is this?”

 

            “It’s a uniform.” You and your siblings chorused in mild confusion. You were at a clothing store that specialized in providing pieces of school apparel. There were vests, sweaters, jackets, ties, bows, socks, backpacks, pants, shorts, shirts...all in various colors and styles.

            As a new first year at Iwatobi, you would need a white button-up, a blue bowtie, a black blazer with the school’s crest at the shoulder, and a brown skirt. The rest you had procured with very little difficulty. Since Iwatobi was the local school, their uniforms were the main products. Most of them came in pre-arranged sets for people who desired especially easy shopping. You avoided them. If you had to wear a uniform, you wanted to at least look cute in it.  

            Your sister chose the button-ups. She’d given you three different styles to choose from throughout the year: a thick long sleeve with lacey trims on the collar and cuffs for winter; a slightly shorter, thinner variation with lace layered over the torso and arms instead of lining the extremities for cold Spring and late Fall; and a completely sleeveless high-necked collared blouse with lace lining the upper back for those hot Summer and early Fall days.

            Your brother chose the accessories. You had shiny blue silk ribbons to tie around your neck and fancy pins to hook on their centers once they were secured: stars, diamonds, octagons, circles, flowers…

            Your father took it easy and did the socks while you fiddled with the skirts. You were in the middle of showing off your shirt-and-skirt combos to your siblings when your father returned. He took one look at you and frowned deeply.

 

            “No.” He shook his head and beckoned you over. You came easily enough though you were just as bewildered as your siblings. They watched with furrowed brows as your dad gently took your arm in one hand and bent to finger the hem of your brown skirt with the other, “I mean, what is _this_?”

 

            “It’s a skirt, Father.” Clearly he knew as much considering the fierceness of his glare. None of you were fazed.

 

            “What’s wrong with it?” Your little brother, Nesure, wondered as he ran his (color) eyes across your form, trying to find some imperfection previously hidden from him.

 

            “I think it’s cute.” Your elder sister, Awa, commented at the same time, tilting her head to the side. Your father pursed his lips and furrowed his brows.

 

            “…Does it have to be so short? Can’t you find a longer one?” He sounded a little distressed.

 

            “Those are for middle-schoolers, Daddy.”

 

            “…You’re moving up, too, and your skirt isn’t so short,” your father pointed out.

 

            “Awa-chan goes to a private prep school. The rules are different,” Nesure sighed as he fiddled with a bear charm that could be attached to the assortment of ribbons he chose for you.

 

            Your father wasn’t convinced. He worried his bottom lip and turned you this way and that…After a minute he shook his head and pulled away from you, “…No. I won’t allow it.”

 

            “What?” The three of you inquired.

 

            He crossed his arms stubbornly and closed his eyes to our own, “There’s absolutely no way I’m going to let my daughter walk around school in something so skimpy. It’s indecent. And there are teenage boys. It’s completely inappropriate.”

 

            You and Awa both gaped at your father but he didn’t open his eyes, refusing to be swayed.

 

            Nesure quirked a wry smile and flipped a little of his (h/c) fringe out of his eyes, “To be honest, he’s got a bit of a point. Guys are going to lose their minds over legs like yours.”

 

            His comment just seemed to drive the nail home for your father whose face burned with rage at these hypothetical males.

 

            “Oh, please,” you huffed a derisive laugh. “I _dare_ someone to try anything foolish.”

 

            “Ah, well, I think it’s safer for everyone involved if we just eliminate the temptation altogether. I’d hate to have to kill someone for touching you,” your little brother advised.

 

            “That’s if there’s even anything left after [Name] breaks every bone in his body. Then you’ve still got to wait until Mommy’s had her turn and then after her it’s Daddy’s…” Awa theorized.

 

            You frowned and crossed your arms, “Then what are we to do? Get a pair of shorts t--?”

 

            “ _Pants_.” Your father corrected before you finished speaking. Without skipping a beat, your father turned sharply and made for the racks of pristinely pressed slacks in the boy’s section. You rolled your eyes when he spared a baleful glance at the skirts displayed on the walls and turned to your siblings.

 

             “Wonderful. Thanks to you, I’ll be violating the school code on my very first day.”

 

            “If you cared that much about following the rules, you wouldn’t have been so against the official Iwatobi uniform,” Awa sighed. “I’m pretty sure lace and tie accessories aren’t in the dresscode.”

 

            “That’s different though, isn’t it? I mean, they’re just so…dated and plain,” Nesure offered as the three of you scrutinized an Iwatobi girl’s complete set on a mannequin.

 

            “So’s the idea that girls have to wear skirts all the time.”

 

            Nesure held up his hands in a placating manner, “I’m just saying I’d want to spice up my uniform, too, if it looked as dreary as that. Either way, I don’t think anyone will care too much and if they do make a big deal out of it they can just talk to Dad about it.”

 

            “I suppose…” you conceded and returned to the dressing room to wait for a pair of trousers to try on. “To be honest, I prefer pants anyway. I can move so much better in them.”

 

            Awa laughed, “That’s because you’re not worried about who’s trying to sneak a peek at anything. Everything’s already covered up so there’s nothing to hide.”

 

            “…Is anyone else worried about how Dad’s going to pay for this stuff? I mean, you’re going to Iwatobi because the tuition’s all he could afford right now but you’re not exactly being frugal,” Nesure said suddenly.

 

            You glanced down at the finer fabric covering your body and almost hesitated before stealing your resolve, “I’ll do it if Father can’t. I’ve got some money saved up.”

 

            “You’d blow your savings on a uniform?” Nesure asked scathingly. You bristled.

 

            “Last I checked, it was my money, not yours. If I want to spend it on something that will make me look and feel good about myself then that’s my right. What’s _your_ excuse for all those gay porn magazines?”

 

            Awa groaned loudly to drown out your brother’s response, “Honestly, you’re both arguing for nothing. Just because you don’t live with Mommy anymore doesn’t mean she won’t help Daddy take care of you, onee-sama. You should know that, Nesure-niichan, since she’s still giving you spending money even though Samezuka provides just about everything for you. If [Name] wants a nice uniform, let her get one. She’s starting a new school soon. Let her have this. Mommy will give her the money back for it even if she does end up using her own. I’ll make sure of it so just stop.”

 

            “…It wasn’t an argument,” you said for lack of anything else to say. Nesure laughed.

 


	3. Last Night

            The hours passed quickly as they always did with your siblings. They’d came back to the apartment with you and your father after finishing shopping for school supplies. You were clustered in the tiny living room with them, watching as they toyed with the family cat. He’d missed them a lot especially since he rarely got the chance to see them anymore. Your father had long since gone back to bed so he’d be ready to go to work that evening. When he finally reemerged he was surprised to find your brother and sister still lingering around.

 

            “I thought you would have gone back home by now,” he said. “You have school tomorrow, too, right?”

 

            “Yeah,” Nesure confirmed and rose to his feet with Viji cradled in his arms. He followed your father into the kitchen where your dad began to pack something to snack on during his break. “But we wanted to see [Name] off since it’s her first day at Iwatobi.”

 

            Your father frowned, confused, “But isn’t it the same for all of you? You’re all going to be first years in high school.”

 

            “It’s not the same,” Awa disagreed as she leaned over the back of the loveseat. “I still go to our old private prep school. The atmosphere is different and going on to the next grade isn’t that big of a deal since nothing really changes, you know? And Nesure-niichan’s been going to Samezuka Academy which is kind of the same since you can go there from elementary all the way up ‘til the end of high school.”

 

            Nesure nodded. “Everybody knows everybody and everybody knows all the rules and the flow and what to expect…all the ceremonies and events are mostly just tradition by this point. We do them on the off-chance someone suddenly transfers in or something like I did three years ago but it’s not so important. We’ve both been at our schools for enough years to know how everything works.”

 

 

            “But [Name] is going to a public school now that she’s living with you and it’s going to be different.” Your brother and sister glanced at you then with identical smiles on their faces. To a stranger they might have appeared just as unreadable as the next polite grin but you could tell they were nervous and excited, but also a little sad…

 

            “Don’t worry, Dad. We’re not going to miss the whole day. Mom’s gonna pick us up and drop us off after we say goodbye to [Name],” Nesure said as he started brushing cat hair off his clothes. Viji had grown tired of being held and went off to flop in front of the balcony door.

 

            “Well, if your mom is fine with it…” Your father trailed off. He was still skeptical but he didn’t want to open that can of worms if he didn’t have to.

 

            “She is,” Awa assured him confidently and scrolled through her messages until she could show him the texts from your mother.

 

            It seemed to make your father a strange mixture of uncomfortable and relieved but it passed quickly enough when Awa drew back her phone, “Alright. Well…don’t stay up too late. You don’t want to sleep through your alarm and keep your mother waiting.”

 

            “Mkay.”

 

            “Yes, sir.”

 

            “Of course.” 

 

            The three of you smiled easily.

 

            Even a blind man could see that you’d all just lied but your father took it in stride and simply kissed the lot of you goodbye as he set off.

 


	4. First Day

            “So…I guess this is it…” you said to your siblings’ reflections as you all squeezed into the small bathroom mirror to give yourselves a final once over.

 

           “Yeah, I guess it is,” Awa murmured. Your sister was as pristine and graceful as a swan in her silken white blouse with its puffy sheer sleeves, solid cuffs and torso, and silver buttons. A large pearl at the base of her neck clipped on her ruffled red and yellow striped bow. Her long sheer black tights blended perfectly into the short skirt of her uniform. She topped the whole thing off with short, shiny, black, pointed T-strap heels and a large trailing ribbon to tie her (color) curls back into a high ponytail.

 

            “…” Your eyes trailed to your brother--a radiant pillar of titanium white in Samezuka’s high school uniform; his long, curly (color) hair was pulled off to the side and braided up in a fanciful style that kept it draped over one shoulder—but he didn’t say anything.

           

            “After today we’ll be officially separated…” Awa reflected as she tilted her head. She reached out suddenly and straightened the blue bow at your neck. You’d chosen the multifaceted diamond-shaped clip to wear on your first day. It didn’t stand out as boldly as Awa’s with her all black-and-white color scheme but it was bright and complemented your attire decently enough.

 

            “Officially no longer a trio.” You agreed as you fiddled with your belt and adjusted your tucked in white long-sleeve shirt. “Just as broken as our family.”

 

            Awa nodded slowly, “…You’ll be here. I’m over there. He’s away somewhere…”

 

            “…”

 

            Silence reigned. It remained unbroken for a long time as the three of you just stared at each other’s images in the mirror…

            So many thoughts and feelings filtered between you in those few minutes. Memories mostly. And dreams…and the dawning realization that most of them were doomed to rest in the past.

           Early mornings drinking tea with your mother while your father made breakfast.

           Late weekend nights spent belting out Disney songs when you were still toddling to the abject horror of your exhausted parents.

           Doing something similar on a more professional stage as your parents—a power couple in those days--cheered you on from backstage.

           Sleeping together. You’d never had your own room before. Now you wished you’d never wished for one. Your room seemed perpetually cold and empty now.

           Laughing together. There was less of that now. So, so much less. It was hard.

           Fighting each other. Not so much anymore but so often when you were little. It changed to learning to fight _for_ each other-- _with_ each other...all that pent up energy and frustration common for siblings in your situation released into something positive. Those martial arts classes would stay in your mind forever. It wasn’t so easy to push any of you around after that…even when it was the other sibling trying to do it.

           There had always been so much learning together. Not of each other. There was nothing you didn’t know about the other two and vice versa but of the _world_.

           Every new sight, sound, taste, touch. Every new experience, every new year, month, week, day, hour, minute, _second_. Living, breathing, growing.-- _all_ of it. _Always_. _Together_.

            Except that it wasn’t anymore. Hadn’t been for about a year and now, with this separation, this division. There was a rift now. A huge one. A chasm that could never be crossed now that it’s come to this point.

           You never thought you’d miss being suffocated so badly…

 

            Awa’s phone went off and broke the spell. You blinked rapidly and frowned at the drops that had gathered under your eyes. A hand squeezed yours. Nesure. He smiled gently, sadly, and helped you clear away the tears. Your other hand was squeezed.

 

            “Mom’s outside,” Awa said and smiled at the two of you. There were tears on her face, too.

 

            “Oh, come on, now…,” Nesure griped without any heat. “Not you, too.” He murmured and reached around you to clean his other sister’s face. “This is supposed to be a good day. That’s why we stayed. To make sure [Name] would be okay. It doesn’t do us any good if _we_ start crying.”

 

           “Well, onee-sama’s the one who started all this depressing talk...” Awa huffed and pulled away to scrub at her face.

 

           You huffed and rolled your eyes, “He says it like he wasn’t feeling it, too. You usually have a lot more to say.”

 

           He frowned and cleared his throat. It was suspiciously tight…, “Y-Yes, well, I cry on the inside.”

 

           “Yeah, cuz Rin-chan cries enough for the both of you~” Awa teased. If she expected her brother to blush she was sorely disappointed. The young man simply grinned softly (almost wolfishly, wouldn’t you know!) and sauntered out of the bathroom.

 

           You followed along behind him and shut off all the lights as you went.

 

\--

 

            “Morning, Mommy.”

           

            “Hey, Mom!”

 

            “Hello, Mother.”

 

            Your mother smiled brightly at the three of you as you all exited your father’s apartment. She was a pretty woman made beautiful by the things she did to her hair and body. She pushed away from where she was leaning against her car with the same innate grace she’d passed down to her children and swept the three of you into her arms.

 

            “Hello, my darlings! Good morning! Are you ready?” She asked, pressing a kiss to one of her children’s hair at the end of each sentence.

 

            “Yes, we are--”

 

            “I call shotgun!” You called and managed to slip expertly underneath your mother’s arm to crash into the passenger side door just before your elder sister.

 

            “What?! No--!”

 

            “Oh, come on, Awa,” Nesure chided as he curled his fingers around part of his eldest sister’s ponytail and towed her to the second set of doors behind the first. “You always get to ride up front with Mom. Let [Name] ride this time.”

 

            You smirked at her as you settled in…and she kicked the back of your chair with enough force to send you jolting forward.

 

            “ ** _Ladies_**!” Your mother barked. You flinched out of pure reflex. “That is _not_ how you treat _my_ car! Now apologize or both of you can _walk_ to school!”

 

            You huffed and crossed your arms imperiously. It wasn’t like you wouldn’t be doing that every day after today. The threat was way more imposing for Awa. Still, if you were the princess, your mother was certainly the Queen and you did not want to end up on the executioner’s block so you sucked it up and apologized as sincerely as you could manage.

            It didn’t satisfy Awa of course but that was hardly your goal anyway. She wasn’t even really mad at you. She was doing it just so your mother wouldn’t notice that you’d all been crying. Speaking of said woman, she was appeased by your apology and went around the other side of the car to get in. When she did, she smiled at you.

            It was a ploy wherein the real goal was to make sure you looked exactly the same as you had when she last saw you. When your parents split, she’d so desperately wanted you to stay with her. She’d wanted to keep all of you, naturally, but out of the three of her children, you were the one most like her.

            Plus she didn’t trust your father with taking proper care of a young lady. At least not when it didn’t concern adultery…

            Naturally she scrutinized your clothing. Approval shown in her eyes until she traveled further down. Then she burst out laughing. You frowned and pursed your lips, quite offended but then she shook her head and touched your shoulder lightly, “Oh, sweetie. I know this was probably your dad’s idea but you look sooo cute!”

 

            You preened and sat up a little straighter, “Thanks, Mother. I think they suit me, too.”

 

            “And you, Nesure-kun. I love you in white.”

 

            “Yes, it’s much better than that dreary grey,” you agreed.

 

            “I liked it. It made him look _mysterious_. Now he just looks like an angel,” Awa lamented.

 

            “Really? I think it’s rather more like a prince.”

 

            Your mother giggled happily, “Are you all excited?”

 

            There was a moment’s hesitation before you all started up a cacophony of “yes”’s and “of course”’s. It wasn’t a long pause but it was telling. She was your mother after all. Her smile turned a bit cynical and she sighed, “It’s going to be difficult, isn’t it?”

 

            Silence.

 

            “You all have been together since you were born…Literally!” She laughed at her own bittersweet memories. “You did everything together. Inseparable even when you didn’t think you wanted to be.”

 

            You shared a glance with your sister and brother through the mirrors. Something about the wistful way she said it made you believe that she wasn’t talking about your shared childhood…Still, there was nothing you could find to say on the matter so you held your tongue.

 

            Your mother sighed again and the faint light that sparked in her eyes died. She was back to the present with all its problems and difficulties…She shook her head.

 

            “What clubs are you going to join?” She asked.

 

            “The dance team again for sure though I might look at figure skating or some other sort of choral group if I have the time,” Awa murmured. Awkward silences bothered her the most out of the three of you.

 

            Nesure spoke up next when it became clear you wouldn’t, “Samezuka doesn’t really have any serious clubs besides the obvious...and cooking for some reason.” He rolled his eyes.

 

            “They still haven’t managed to convert you?” You smirked over your shoulder. He huffed.

 

            “No though to be fair they’re not trying very hard. I mean, look at how many guys they have to turn away each year. What do they care if one dude doesn’t want to be on their team?”

 

            “I think you should look into cooking. You make amazing desserts~” You sighed dramatically much to your family’s amusement.

 

            “I might start up one of my own. God knows I need a decent sparring partner.”

 

            “And what about you, [Name]-chan?”

 

            “Well, I…haven’t really thought of it yet, to be honest.” It wasn’t like that was the strangest thing in the world.

 

            Your mother smiled knowingly, “You always were like that.”

 

            You furrowed your brows, “Like what?”

 

            “Well,” she started and tilted her head this way and that as she searched for what she wanted to say. “Aimless, I suppose, for lack of a better word.”

 

            Your frown deepened but your mother just smiled and stroked your cheek gently, “With your brother and sister, it was so easy especially when we—that is your father and I—were still together. Your sister used to sing all day and night even before she could properly speak. Humming this and wiggling to that…You and Nesure were amazing, too. You complimented each other perfectly but everyone could tell Awa-chan was made for performing…

           “And then, when we decided to give you all music lessons to help encourage those talents, we noticed how restless you three would get. We enrolled you in self-defense classes. It would teach you patience and control and discipline which was sorely needed between the three of you. And then we noticed Nesure-kun’s talents. He was always the most levelheaded out of the three of you. He could handle the worst of your fits, [Name], and diffuse just about any argument Awa-chan started but he showed such fierceness when he needed to…And once again, [Name], you did well and you had fun but it wasn’t _you_ …And it was so funny at the time! Ha! Because you were always the most assertive! So charming and mischievous…everyone just knew that once you found your niche that would be it. A part of us actually wondered if it would actually be a good thing to find your talent, hee hee!

           “But we experimented anyway. We tried to expose the three of you to as many things we could in the hopes that you would find something you were passionate about, too, but the pattern just continued. Art. Cooking. Dance. Soccer. Baseball…You did well and you had fun but you were always just tagging along behind Awa and Nesure. Because they were doing something and you were always together…it seemed like the more talents your siblings discovered they possessed, the less you tried to find one of your own. The three of you were involved in so many things together that there was scarcely any time for you to just sit and focus on _you…_ ”

 

            She glanced at you with an indescribable pain in her eyes, “I’m not a perfect mother, [Name]. I know I could have done some things better and the last couple of years, with all the fighting and all the drama of the divorce and the three of you splitting up and suddenly being forced to live separately from each other for such long periods of time…At first I was devastated but…

            “But I’m also happy because you can learn something from this, [Name]. I know you love your family and I know you want only for all of us to be happy and together and at peace…but you need to find that for yourself, too, sweetie. You need to branch out, without the rest of us crowding you, and find what makes you _you._ You need to learn to live as [Name] and not as Awa, Kifujin, and Nesure. It’s not the ideal way to do this but it _is_ a good opportunity for you to take your time, look at all the different clubs. Maybe join a few, even if you don’t think it’s something you’d like. Even if it’s the exact opposite of what you’d normally go for. Even if people say it’s not for girls or that you’re not smart enough or brave enough or athletic enough or creative enough whatever the excuse…do it anyway. Find something you like, something you love, something you want to be, something you want to do…Promise me that, [Name]. Promise me that you will enjoy high school even if it isn’t the way we’d always dreamed it would be.”

 

            You swallowed around the enormous cincher at your dry throat but found you couldn’t immediately find the words so you nodded until you could, “…I-I promise, Mother…”

 

            She smiled and her eyes were wet, “I know this is hard for you. All of you. I’m your mother. I’m hardly blind but your father and I are not getting back together and you can’t waste away your life waiting for that, [Name]. None of you can. Do you understand me?”

 

            “Yes, Mommy,” Awa murmured back quietly. Of the three of you she was the most self-assured but she’d been the most hopeful that your parents would make up.

 

            “Yes, Mom.” Nesure agreed in that serene tone he adopted when everyone else around him was losing it emotionally and he was the only one entrusted to keep it together. He was always the strongest that way and had long predicted these days would come even when the rest of you kept pushing such painful notions from the forefront. It was precisely that foreknowledge that sparked him to transfer to Samezuka so many years before the divorce was finalized. Consequentially he was affected the least.

 

            “Yes, Mother…,” you croaked and wiped at your face. It wouldn’t do to go into school with tearstains on your very first day…

 

            “Oh, come here, sweetie. I didn’t mean to make you cry. That was supposed to be inspirational.” You flinched when both her arms curled around you largely because you’d assumed she was still driving but it seemed she’d reached the school in the middle of her monologue.

 

            “Yes, well, you failed miserably,” you snapped without any real anger. Your mother and brother chuckled at your attitude. “…I love you, Mommy…”

 

            “Aww, I love you, too, [Name], my beautiful Kifujin. I’ll see you again soon okay?”

 

            “Alright,” you nodded and with one final sniff, settled yourself and stepped out the car. Your siblings did so at the same time and you all clustered on the sidewalk in front of your mother’s car. Several students—more like a couple dozen, really—stopped and stared but the three of you ignored them.

 

            “Have a great first day, onee-sama…” Awa said softly into your ear and hugged you tightly. You squeezed her back just as hard before stepping away with a shaky but bright smile.

 

            “I will,” you promised and laughed when she reached out to straighten your bow one final time before turning away.

 

            “Don’t even think about it,” Nesure almost sneered and caught her wrist gently. “I get dibs on shotgun this time so move it to the back, nee-chan.”

 

            Awa thought about arguing. You could see it. But you also saw that she knew now was not the time and so she acquiesced. For now. Nesure rolled his (color) eyes and smiled at you. You smirked and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, “See you, Nessie.”

 

            He sighed long-sufferingly but did nothing to discourage your use of the prehistoric nickname. It wasn’t like you ever said it when anyone else could hear after all. He coiled his arms around your waist and blew a raspberry into your ear.

 

            “Ugh! How rude! Why would you--?!”

 

            “Mom’s right, you know.” His words sliced through your own like a hot knife through butter.

 

            You sobered up and crossed your arms, “I know…”

 

           “But…maybe you shouldn’t rush.”

 

            The way he said it made you narrow your eyes, “What are you getting at?”

 

             “I’m saying it’s not easy to let go and you shouldn’t try to do it too quickly just because Mom wants you to.”

 

            “In other words, you’re going to miss me, too.”

 

            “Well, yeah. You’re one of my favorite sisters.” He winked and smiled when you laughed.

 

            “Yeah well you’ve only got two, so…”

 

            “Yeah and now that we’re all split so far away I won’t see them as much anymore…Well, I might still see Awa since Mom works during the day and can just drop her off or something but Dad works at night and he won’t really want you out too late on the train by yourself if you know what I mean.” Your face darkened and you started to protest but he shook his head. “Just look into the swim club here.”

 

            You wrinkled your nose, “What? Why?”

 

            “Because Rin--”

 

            “—Oh! You mean your _boyfriend_ ,” you interrupted with a coy smirk. Your brother’s eyebrow twitched.

 

            “He’s the new captain of the swim team and he told me that he’s thinking on continuing joint practices with Iwatobi since a couple of his friends are here and he doesn’t get to see them as much. Maybe you can tag along with them when they come and that way you don’t have to ride home alone.”

 

            “I’ll…think about it,” you said. Really, swimming was fun but you didn’t know if you liked it enough to join an entire _club_ dedicated to it. Then again like your mother had pointed out, you didn’t know really what you liked and technically you’d be killing two birds with one stone without breaking any promises. In fact, you’d actually be keeping one.

 

            Nesure grinned at the gleam in your eyes and turned away, “You’ll do it. I know you. See you around, nee-sama. Have a good day.”

 

           “You, too, Nesure. I love you.”

 

            “Love you, too.”

 

            “Love you!!!” Your mother and sister called from the car as they pulled away. You smiled and waved before adjusting your bag, straightening your back, schooling your features and strutting into Iwatobi.


	5. Opening Credits

            The opening ceremony was, to describe it in one word…boring. Now to be fair you hadn’t expected much from a public school but the novelty of the program differences quickly wore off. For one, your ass was starting to hurt from sitting on the cafeteria floor for so long. For another there was the small fact that you were sitting on the floor. The _floor_ , by the heaven’s above, of a _cafeteria_! That place were little nasties dropped food and sauce and all kinds of icky mess that no one knew about because it’d already dried so long ago…Jesus, your new pants you’d _just_ bought were _already_ going to have to be cleaned…They could have at least provided a little cushion or at least a mat…You couldn’t even distract yourself from your fretting by watching the stage.

            None of the presenters were particularly captivating. There was a speech and a big brief hello from the older students and then the clubs took over and you were left trying to keep your focus. Once again, you hadn’t expected much since it was a far stretch from your old private school. Still, you expected a little more than just a droning, stuttering speech or a poorly made short film. There were so many with videos actually that the organizers stopped trying to turn the big lights back on altogether and just switched to the spotlights instead…

            You sighed heavily but quietly when yet another video with yet another little Iwatobi bird thing as the main character lit up the screen. This one actually had a fish in its mouth. Well, there were certainly points for originality…It was actually fairly well done in comparison to the others though you supposed that made sense considering it was the film club’s…

            You were starting to zone out again. You could feel it. You tried not to. It was rude to all the hard work these students had put in to welcoming all their new kouhais but it was difficult to remain focused all the same.

            Just as you decided there was no longer any point in fighting it, though, the spotlight flashed back on and an energetic woman said over the intercom: “Next we have the swim club!”

 

            All your disinterest melted away into acute curiosity. This was the swim club. This was the group of people your brother said would be able to help you visit him more if you got in. You sat up straighter and listened attentively to the pretty redhead decked out in a pale blue and white tracksuit:

 

            “I’m not saying we’re the coolest club in school. I’m not even saying we’re the best. We’re just the people who got it in our heads last spring to fix your pool.”

 

            You grinned to yourself, mentally nodding in approval. You liked honesty at the very least despite the poor sales pitch and she didn’t stutter or hesitate. In fact, she was talking a little too fast but it wasn’t like the majority really cared about what she had to say. They were probably still going through the same mental torture you were up until this point and wondering when this would all be over so you gave her points for getting straight to _her_ point.

 

            “I’m Gou Matsuoka, club manager. And this--!” She said, turning her head suddenly to the right just as a spotlight flared in the open space beside her. Your eyes were drawn there not only because of the sudden light but also because it was the first time she’d so much as twitched since being on stage…Though there was the fact that a strawberry blond dude clad in the same pale blue and white jacket as Gou just flipped into a handstand. “—is our treasurer!”

 

            The blonde tumbled into a smooth roll and struck a pose. You thought it was cool and athletically impressive. You also thought that was the extent of his entrance and that he might take the mic and say a few words…

           You were very surprised.

            The boy literally ripped open his jacket and exposed his bare chest to the entire audience. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath besides the _skin-tight_ black swim shorts you’d overlooked before. Ironically enough they were the only piece of clothing you could look at lest you risk staring at his copious amounts of skin.

            His admittedly handsome chest with faint abdominal muscles that you could see even from where you were sitting…

 

            “Hmm…,” you hummed to yourself and grinned. Your lips curled up into a smirk even as everyone else’s around you hung open in pure unadulterated shock. Now you were starting to think there was more than one reason why your brother wanted you to join the swim club…

 

            “Nagisa Hazuki! Second year!” The guy on stage declared as he started up vague swimming motions in front of a sign that read: Come! Join the Swim Club! “I’m a breaststroke man and my best feature is my soleus!”

 

            You damn near choked on your own breath trying to contain your reaction. You couldn’t decide if you wanted to burst out laughing or run up and cuddle this adorable creature. Both sides agreed that he was cute and rather charming especially with that bright, happy, self-confident smile and playful wink, “Ladies~!”

             Hm. Yeah. You nodded to yourself silently. That sealed it for you. You were definitely joining. Well, you already _were_ going to just so you could crash Samezuka Academy without worrying anyone but there was also _this_ added bonus.

            Really it wasn’t the swimsuits, you told yourself as a second person literally cartwheeled onto the stage after the first.

            Not entirely anyway, you admitted even as Gou informed the crowd that this tall raven-haired male was the vice-captain.

            He followed right along after his treasurer in removing his coat. The way he did it forced his chest to flex in a decidedly…enticing manner. Still, it wasn’t like you’d never seen a cute boy before. A good number of them approached you on the daily. The problem was they were attracted to _you_ \--not the other way around—and most cute guys were stuck-up pricks or narcissistic traditionalists who assumed you would blush or cry or generally lose your shit and cower in the wake of their manly awesomeness…

            Yawn.

            The very few who weren’t that way were already taken, naturally.

            Or gay.

            Still, it was rare for you to see a cute boy who did not know _you_ existed. It was refreshing: not in the least because this time _you_ got to play the hunter. And really it was the natural way of things. You were born to lead after all.

 

            “Haruka Nanase. Third Year.” It didn’t hurt that you had a thing for older guys. It ran in the family. Your mom and dad. Awa and Kisumi. Nesure with Aiichiro _and_ Rin… “Free style is my thing and my triceps are guaranteed…to drive you out of your mind.”

 

            You hummed in approval at the smoking delivery. Still, you wondered what possessed them to treat their club promo like a dating profile. Not that you were complaining. At the very least they were certainly entertaining especially when the third male came out with a flying spinning pirouette and removed his clothing, too. His was the most graceful of the ones you’d seen so far and it made you wonder…The crowd by this point had gotten over the initial shock and were divulging into confusion and discomfort. They started whispering to one another.

 

           “Rei Ryugazaki. Second Year,” the secretary, per Gou’s introduction, announced. The other two had moved out of the way so he could perform his swim motions and he did so rather flamboyantly in comparison to the others. You could tell he enjoyed putting on a show…Your grin turned positively lethal.

 

           The next person to come out didn’t do any fancy aerobics. He just ran out as you suspected a team captain should—no time for theatrics when you had a club to run…but then he stripped, too, and you resigned yourself to being happily proven wrong.

           Instead of facing the crowd though, he gave you his back when he took off his jacket. It was absolutely ridiculous how well-muscled he was to be only a teenager. You didn’t like your men particularly bulky but you could make an exception for him especially when you heard the nervous manner in which he spoke. He was probably embarrassed despite being the one showing the least amount of his body which just made the whole situation that much more endearing. A gentle giant. He would be so much fun to play with.

 

           “Join us! And become a more muscular you!” Gou finished with a happy smile.

 

           You smiled, too. Forget the muscles. You had enough of those. You needed boy toys.

 

            At the very end of the ceremony, the lights came back on and you were all divided into your classes. A string of older students lined up in front of you all and waited patiently as your classes were called out. Then the assigned student left with his assigned group to show them to their new classroom and teacher.

            You rose with the rest of your new classmates and followed your leader through the halls of the school. Your eyes roamed freely as you took in the environment around you. It wasn’t nearly as polished as your old school but it was pretty and…homey. You felt comfortable in this smaller space with posters all over the bits of faded walls that didn’t happen to be massive sheets of glass…Your old school was massive and architecturally beautiful but there were no windows. The founders had deemed them distracting and unnecessary. There were colors here, too. So many of them. Other colors besides just the ones allowed by the original color scheme of the décor. You liked it.

            You were stopped in front of a random door in a hallway full of them. Class 5-B, the tag above the door read…You filed inside along with everyone else and looked around for a decent place to sit. You were very pleased to note that this classroom had windows. You would definitely be choosing a spot close to them.

            There were a lot of desks though and it left you feeling just a little lost. There weren’t ever this many students in one classroom at your old school and there were always assigned seats. You hesitating, wondering if there were some sort of indicator to tell you which seat was yours…but there didn’t seem to be any. The other students chose seats at random so you smiled happily to yourself and chose a seat in the first row right next to the window…

 

            “Hi.”

 

            You glanced up at the person who’d address you. It was a pretty girl with round brown eyes and thick, curly, amber hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall. She was very tall—even taller than you--and the bits of her cream-colored skin that you could see were muscled. You tipped your head politely in greeting, “Hello.”

 

            You were confused at the heavy blush that came to her cheeks. She didn’t seem to notice it though so you brushed it aside as she settled into the seat beside you. Subconsciously you noted the resulting angry hisses and flicked your eyes to the group of girls it had originated from…only your new companion was not so willing to see your attention wander and leaned forward. Your eyes were drawn to the sudden movement and she smiled, “I’m Hachimitsu Kasshoku.”

 

           “[Full Name]. A pleasure.”

 

            Her blush deepened and the expression on her face shifted into something like excitement. Her lips parted, perhaps to say something else, but a loud scraping sound, followed by another feminine voice, interrupted her, “I’m Jureka Kobo.”

 

            Kasshoku frowned when you turned a little in your seat to greet this new conversationalist. She was weird-looking; not ugly but maybe exotic you supposed with droopy orange eyes and medium-length, straight, black, silky hair. It was thin though and even more so on her eyebrows where it looked like they almost didn’t exist. Her uniform was of a higher quality than the others though not quite in the same caliber as your own fine threads. It hugged her curves much better than yours did though or maybe her curves were just _that_ defined…

 

            You smiled politely, “Hi.”

 

            That simple gesture seemed to embolden a number of your classmates who suddenly crowded your desk. It was unexpected but not entirely unpleasant. A small part of you had been worried about making friends—you’d never really had a need for them since you had two siblings who understood you better than any non-family member ever could. They weren’t around now though and you could concede that you were getting a little lonely…There was no telling how well you would fit in but at least you didn’t have to worry about people outright hating you…Iwatobi seemed very friendly. After receiving a litany of names that you forgot almost as soon as they were given, someone else spoke up.

 

            “Oh-ho, there! Slow down, children.” All of you turned at the sound of the mature voice that rose above the mass of much younger ones. A broad-shouldered man stood there, smiling a little at the entire class as he settled behind the desk at the desk in front of the room. He had deep-set chestnut eyes, wavy charcoal-black hair, and a pointed chin. “They’ll be plenty of time to get to know each other after we set a couple ground rules. For starters, I am Tonbu Kurozato, your new teacher. Welcome to Iwatobi and to Class 5-B.”

 

            Everyone bowed and settled into a seat as Mr. Kurozato gave his own short welcoming speech and laid down class rules. They were much more relaxed in some ways and stricter in others than you were used to. You were allowed to carry your cellphones for example but they couldn’t be used in class and yet you couldn’t use a laptop or tablet to take notes despite the fact they couldn’t be connected to the school Wi-Fi. You couldn’t eat or drink in class like you could at your old school but mints and gum were okay. None of it made sense to you but you didn’t dwell too hard on it.

 

            “Alright. Let’s start introducing ourselves and then we’ll break for pictures and then you can go explore the school a little. Sound good? Okay. We’ll start from the back corner. Stand up, give us your name, what school you came from, something you like, and something you hate.”

 

            You didn’t try to remember any names. There were too many people in the class and they all ran through their introductions very quickly. You gathered that most of these students already knew each other. They’d gone to middle school together, some even back in elementary.

            You stood without being prompted after the girl behind you finished speaking. She’d also come from Iwatobi Middle and was interested in beekeeping while she hated butterflies…

 

            “My name is [Full Name]. I came here from Orenjitirouzu.” There was a loud collective gasp at that but you largely ignored it even when the class started to murmur excitedly. “I like a lot of things and I can’t really think of anything I hate though I suppose, I dislike being bossed around. It’s nice to meet all of you.”

 

            You bowed and took your seat. There were a few more introductions after your own. They weren’t interesting enough for you to remember much about them. You supposed it didn’t matter in the long run. It was only the first day and you would relearn all that information anyway if you became friends with any of them.

            It seemed like forever before you were allowed to leave the classroom again. The most curious of your new classmates were the first few out the door. You would have been among them if a gaggle of people hadn’t suddenly stood in your way.

            To be fair they didn’t all show up at once and you might have been able to avoid them if you weren’t distracted by a sudden hiss at your left ear. You snapped your head in that direction, startled to see a tall boy with white skin, small feet, and an upturned nose crouching between the two girls who’d first approached you.

 

            “Is it true you went to Orenjitirouzu?” He asked as he gazed at you with blood-red almond-shaped eyes.

 

            You frowned, “Yes, of course. Why would I lie?”

 

            A startled sound got caught in his throat and he held up his hands to quell your ire. You were surprised he didn’t topple over since he’d been using his hold on the desks to keep his balance, “I’m sorry. It’s not like that.”

 

            “Then what _is_ it like?” You inquired and tilted your head.

 

            He shrugged and resituated his hands on the thin metal beams of the desks around him, “Nothing. I guess I’m just wondering why you’re here and not still there. I mean, that’s a private school, right? And don’t they go up to high school?”

 

            “Yes,” you confirmed simply, unwilling to divulge too much to a complete stranger. 

 

            He seemed to sense as much and smiled. It struck you as odd though you couldn’t place why. You frowned a little and scrutinized him a little more closely. He seemed to know it, too, since he blatantly copied you…The first thing you noticed once you managed to tear your eyes away from his startling ones was his hair. It was long—incredibly so—and lavender though he kept it out of the way with an attractive if not elaborate hairstyle. It matched his outfit which was—like yours—technically correct but definitely not the norm. Still, yours was more classy and refined while his was more artistic. His smile shifted into something a little more appreciative as he finished perusing your person, “A kindred spirit.”

 

            “It would seem so,” you hummed and almost wished you’d bothered to pay attention when he’d introduced himself. “Though you’ll have to excuse me. I’m kind of busy…”

 

            You trailed off as you stood. That’s when you noticed the small crowd surrounding you and parted your lips in mild astonishment. It was even larger than before and this time a couple males were lingering in the folds.

 

            The boy chuckled and rose gracefully to his full height. He was almost four inches taller than you--! “Yeah, it would seem so.”

 

            You glanced at him bitterly before clearing your throat and addressing the crowd, “Ahm…Can I help you?” You tried.

 

            There was a general squeal of delighted surprise that you totally didn’t understand. It freaked you out a little to be honest. One empathetic soul sensed as much and smiled, “Sorry. It’s just we’ve never met a rich person before.”

 

            You didn’t really know how to respond to that so you kept your silence. Actually you were trying to find an escape route if you were being completely honest but they’d all surrounded you fairly effectively.

 

            “Your clothes are really nice,” someone said.

 

            You inclined your head, “Thank you.”

 

            “You actually look kind of familiar.” You turned your eyes to meet a pair of slanted brown ones. “Have we met before…?”

 

            You lifted a shoulder noncommittally, “You might have seen me around if you frequent the piers. We spend a few weeks of summer vacation here on the water every year.”

 

            “Oh! Really?! Wow!”

 

            “Does your family own one of the boats?”

 

            You pursed your lips, unable to decide if you found their prying endearing or impolite, “Yes. A couple.”

 

            “Really? That’s cool. My dad owns one, too. He’s a fisherman.”

 

            “How nice.”

 

            Your lukewarm response seemed to confuse some of them, “Does your dad fish?”

 

            You managed to stop yourself from snorting though you couldn’t keep your face from wrinkling a little. Fishing was nice but it was something your family did for recreational purposes. You couldn't imagine having to do that day in and day out for a living,  “Certainly not.”

 

            “Well, of course not. How could he afford to attend an elite private academy on a fisherman’s salary?” Someone admonished.

 

            “My mother, actually, if you must engage in idle speculation,” you interjected as pleasantly as you could. The hard set of your mouth though told them that you were displeased, though, and they fidgeted under a sudden wave of inelegance. Not that they were possessed of much to begin with. Curiosity was hardly an excuse to forgo proper manners. “Actually, why don’t I leave you to it? I’d much rather explore the school and I’m sure none of you have any real need for that, right?”

 

            No one answered with anything definitive so you stepped forward and raised your brows meaningfully, “Well then, excuse me…?”

 

            The students parted easily as you passed and you kind of wished you’d tried to leave before now. Surely they were more intimidated by you than you were of their numbers if their reactions had anything to say on the matter. You were nonplussed. 

 

            “I’ll come with you!” The lavender-haired male from before volunteered as he fell into step beside you. You sighed quietly but otherwise made no objections. Honestly he could do whatever he liked as long as he didn’t hinder you.

            In retrospect you might have known being a rich kid from a private school would cause a lot of waves. To be fair though, you were so used to being around other even wealthier people that it never occurred to you… 

 

            “What clubs are you thinking of joining?” Your companion asked when you stopped to examine a bulletin board.

           

            “The swim club.”

 

            Your answer shocked the male who turned to look at you in stunned surprise, “Really? I didn’t peg you for the type.”

 

            “And what type is that?”

 

            “I don’t know. The princely type at the very least. Certainly not an athlete.”

 

            You quirked an amused smile, “You’d be surprised…though I’ll admit swimming isn’t something I’d ever considered before now...”

 

            “What changed?”

 

            You couldn’t find a way to answer that truthfully without divulging into your life story and quite frankly you didn’t feel like doing that so you dismissed the topic, “I’d rather not get into that at the moment if you don’t mind.”

 

            He didn’t take offense and instead said, “Yeah, I imagine you’re quite finished with answering questions, huh? That’s alright. You know it’s going to be too cold to swim.”

 

            “Yes, of course. That doesn’t mean I can’t join. Besides, _you’re_ the one who asked…”

 

            From the corner of your eye you caught a smile, “That’s true…I just think it’d make more sense to join a club you could participate in _now_.”

 

            “What did _you_ have in mind, then?” You asked just to get the focus off of you.

 

            “The Art Club!”

 

            You huffed a small laugh and rolled your eyes discreetly, “Naturally.”

 

            “Eh?”

 

            “I don’t know you very well so feel free to correct me but it seems like you’d do well there,” you explained before turning away and making your way to the nearest exit. You didn’t imagine the swim club would meet anywhere besides the pool even if it was cold outside. The problem would be finding it and even that wasn’t too difficult. It wasn’t like Iwatobi was particularly big. Everything seemed to be right on top of each other though the magnificent landscaping did a good job of hiding that fact.

 

            “You should consider Student Government. That seems like it would fit you.”

 

            You couldn’t tell if that was meant to be an insult or a compliment but you thanked him either way.

 


	6. Reassurance

            In the end you didn't join the swim club. Not that day anyway. When you showed up, after trekking through a barely used dirt path and some rusted stairs and hesitantly peeked into an old creaky club room, you found no one. Rather you didn't _see_ anyone but you could certainly hear them and they sounded agitated. Their voices carried through the air through the thin wooden door separating you from what you assumed was the pool area...You didn't know what they were fussing about but either way it was certainly none of your business. The only polite thing to do was leave and come back at a better time.

            Which you did after checking out the other clubs you knew you'd want to at least visit occasionally due to your upbringing: music, dance, karate, choir...though maybe that last one would be better described as 'karaoke' because really they weren't that sophisticated.

            The next time when you visited the pool after school there was a poster on the door. It was essentially a notice that the pool was closed but underneath was a note that anyone interested in the swim club should meet them at an indoor pool in the next town over...There was to be a city tournament and they were competing in it.

            You debated on whether or not you would go. The amusement of their presentation had faded after so many hours and you didn't think joining a club just to hang out with your brother was very respectful to the current members. After all, shouldn't someone belonging to a club be actually interested in it? Especially if they were entering in things like _tournaments_...

            Then again, you didn't know exactly _what_ you were interested in. That was the problem. Everything you liked, you did only because your siblings did so first and only if it hadn't turned out to totally suck for you. Granted those things were very few but still: you'd never have chosen to dance or learn martial arts otherwise. It was fun but it didn't fit in with those early mental images of yourself.

            You were conflicted. You were at once breaking and keeping the promise you made to your mother. Did you join the swim club to experiment or did you join just because your brother wanted you to? Could you do both? Was it possible? You didn't know. But in the end there was only ever one way to find out...

 

            "Nii-chan?"

 

            " _I had a feeling you'd call me._ " You didn't respond to that. Honestly you'd be more worried if he hadn't known all things considered. " _You're worried._ "

 

             A frown tugged at your mouth involuntarily, "Yes, a little..."

 

            " _..._ " You gave him a minute to try and guess what was up. He didn't fail to please. " _Did you join the swim club?_ " He asked neutrally.

 

            "I couldn't. They were arguing when I first came by and the second time, no one was there--Well, they'd left a note but--"

 

            " _What did it say?_ " You could imagine him holding his cheek in one hand as he picked absently at some lint with the other...

 

            "Just that the pool was closed for now but they were going to meet any people interested at a city tournament."

 

            He didn't hesitate to drop the big question: " _And are you going to go?_ "

 

            You sighed and cast your eyes to the heavens. It was getting late. The clouds were starting to blaze orange on the horizon. It was time for you to start making you way home..., "I don't know."

 

            He wasn't disappointed. If anything he was a bit confused, " _Y_ _ou were so sure this morning._ "

 

            "I know!" You chuckled humorlessly.

 

            " _But not anymore."_

 

            "No," you confirmed. Your heart started to pound in your chest as the resulting silence dragged on. It was in moments like these that you most clearly marked your distance. If Nesure were here with you physically you would have been able to read his thoughts just by glancing at him.

 

            He took so long to speak that by the time he did your heart had calmed and you realized you'd made your way back out through the school's front gates. You were going to need to get off the phone soon to find the nearest train station but it wasn't urgent, " _Well, don't do it if you don't want to, [Name]. I won't force it. I just thought that you'd need it. I mean, Awa is close enough but if she's going to join the Dance Team and Figure Skating over top of the clubs she always joins, she's going to be really busy--maybe too busy to give you as much attention as either of you would like. And I know I'm all the way at Samezuka and that's a hike but I'd still rather we see each other_ sometimes _rather than not at all--"_

 

            "No, no, I know all that. That's not the problem...I just don't want to _use_ anyone--"

 

            " _T_ _his coming from one of the brattiest people I've ever met--"_

 

            "That's _not_ the point, Nesure."

 

            " _I know...I'm sorry. It's Mom, isn't it?_ "

 

            "You heaved a sigh, "Yes. She seems to blame herself for a lot of things and I don't want--"

 

            " _Yeah but you can't take on her burdens, [Name]. You have to live your life how_ you _want to. Isn't that what she said? Do what you want. Not what I or Awa or Mom or Dad or anyone else wants you to do. Do you even know what that is?_ "

 

            "No...That's the problem, isn't it?"

 

            " _What do you feel then?"_ He insisted.

 

            "What?"

 

            " _R_ _ight now. What do you want to do more than anything else?_ "

 

            "...I want to see you. And Awa. And Mom. And Dad. All of us back at the house with the dog and the cat and the fish and birds...I want to hang out like we used to when everything wasn't so complicated..."

 

            " _A_ _nd most of that isn't possible. So. What do you want right_ now _, realistically?_ "

 

            "It's still the same thing. Even if we can't all be happy _together_ I want all of us happy--"

 

            " _And we want_ you _to be happy. So what would make you that way besides dreams of the past?_ "

    

            "I don't know--!"

 

            " _Okay_." He said, and sighed almost wearily. " _You're thinking too hard about this. Just...go to the tournament and pay attention to how you feel, okay? Don't think. Just feel. Be open-minded. And don't worry about us for the love of God. And if you don't feel inspired. If your heart doesn't start beating super fast and your muscles don't get all tingly and restless and you don't enjoy yourself,_ don't _join. It's that simple and just...keep doing that with everything, every club, every event...just do that and have fun and, I don't know,_ live _for once. Don't try to control everything. Just_ be _._ "

 

            "..."

 

            " _..._ _Okay_? _Can_ _you_ _do_ _that_?"

 

            "...I'll try," you said despondently. Seriously, that was a tall order for you. You loved being in control...He made a small amused sound in his throat.

 

            " _You'll be fine. Look, I've gotta go now. Rin's about to start working with the new recruits and I want to see how he handles being captain_."

 

           "You know you talk about him all the time but I've yet to actually meet him..."

 

            "Bye _, [Name]~_ " The phone clicked.

 

            You smiled and flicked through your apps to find the fastest route home...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's shorter than the others but that's okay because the next few chapters are kind of long.


	7. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait but this chapter is _long_. It was actually supposed to be broken up into a few chapters but I condensed it as I figured by this point we're all ready to meet the boys and I've left you bereft long enough. ;P  
>  Enjoy!

            You rushed to get home. The city tournament was today. If you were lucky your father might be able to drop you off before going in to work. He'd chosen overnight hours so he could be sure you made it in the house safely. The idea was for you not to leave it once he'd gone of course but perhaps if you applied decent perlocution...

 

             “A swim club?” You heard him ask skeptically from outside the bathroom where you were stripping out of your school uniform. You traded it in for a thick long-sleeved shirt with dark grey arms and a light seafoam green torso, matching high-top convers, the same colored beanie, and a white high-collared winter vest.

 

            “Yes. We have one at school and they’re competing today. I wanted to see it." You tried to give your voice just enough inflection as not to appear too eager nor too nonchalant. Neither end of the spectrum would hold up very well in an argument if he decided to go that route. Not that you were willing to traverse with him, of course.

 

            He seemed to hear as much, too, because instead of prying as he usually did, he merely stifled a sound in his throat and commented vaugely, "Well, that’s…different…”

 

            He left the "why?” unasked. You purposely ignored it.

 

            “So?” You prompted as you stepped out of the bathroom. Your father immediately ran his eyes over your form. At seeing nothing he could flag as inappropriate, he turned his eyes up to yours. A question shone in their depths. He'd been temporarily distracted. You resisted the urge to sigh. “Are you able to take me?”

 

            “Sure. There’s time if we leave now.”

 

            You smiled, “Thank you.”

 

            “No problem just…be careful getting back and don’t stay out too late.”

 

            “Yes, of course,” you agreed easily as you snagged your phone, wallet, earbuds, and keys. It always seemed to slip his mind that you were well-versed in throw-downs, tackles, and bone-breaking…

            The ride wasn’t long. It didn’t take much to get to most places in this area since the place was so small.

            An unexpected number of people had shown up. It surprised your father and in doing so convinced him that your desire to attend wasn’t as outlandish as he’d first assumed. Despite the crowd, you didn’t see any people from your own school though. If you did you certainly didn’t recognize them...

 

            “Have fun. Love you!”

 

            You smiled and hugged your father distractedly before slipping out of his small car, “Love you, too. Have a good night at work.”

 

            The first thing you noticed upon entering was how ridiculously _big_ everything was. There were signs posted on the walls and arrows that instructed the various visitors on where they should go. Competitors were guided towards the locker rooms. Their parents, if they weren’t quite old enough to feel comfortable going alone, accompanied them but most were ushered straight on back to the pool seating area.

            The bleachers weren’t packed but there was definitely a big crowd. It said more about the amount of space available than the interest this little event had caused.

            You lingered at the very top, leaning against the warm guardrails as you looked on at the glistening water. It was clearer than the waves on the piers or even the more open waters over the side of your mother's boats. You imagined you could see all the way to the bottom even from your position at the top. Awa didn't have an interest in water. She preferred to sunbathe. Nesure, on the other hand, would watch the water with you though you supposed he was more interested in the horizon than looking down...

            Remembeing them left you feeling distinctly alone, watching the clusters of people laughing and giggling and smiling and talking to each other. You weren’t comfortable enough to sit with the other people though. Besides, doing so would make it harder to see when and where the Iwatobi swimmers were meeting up. Not to mention it was weird being a spectator when you were usually among the entertainers.

            The water was beautiful though as always. You liked it best when no one was there disturbing it.

            You sighed--breathing in the humid air, and fished out your phone and earbuds. You passed the time like this--watching the little ones carve their paths through the watery lanes while keeping an eye out for anyone you recognized from the ceremony yesterday. You did this dutifully as gradually the ages and experience levels increased. Then the high schoolers were up and you turned down your music.

            The crowds switched according to who was swimming. The younger audiences had largely disappeared after their races were over though the more avid fans still lingered. Maybe they had family or friends who were competing? Either way, a lot more teenagers and young adults started to filter in. Most of them were huge groups all clad in the same outfit depending on which school they belonged to. They chattered excitedly with each other as they glanced out over the water. You cast your eyes about with renewed curiosity at the various swim clubs that took over the stands…

 

            “Looking for someone?” An incredibly familiar voice inquired lazily, followed by a quick pinch to your waist.

 

            You whipped your head around so fast that your beanie nearly flew off. Your indignant expression instantly morphed into one of elation at the sight of your brother. He wasn’t in uniform but he wasn’t dressed casually either. He was bundled up in an oversized mostly black tracksuit with a yellow beanie covering his fringe. His long hair wasn’t so intricately styled anymore either. The neat collection of interwoven braids had clearly been unraveled and redone into something much simpler as was his preference. If Awa could see how wasted her efforts had been she would surely loose her mind.

 

            “Nesure!”

 

            “And Aiichiro. He’s already gone with the others though. I think they’re trying to find a space big enough for all of us to claim…” He said and tilted his head meaningfully to the group of large young men that had passed you by unnoticed. It wasn’t like they were the only club here though they certainly commanded the superior numbers.

 

            “What are you doing here?” You asked him, astonished. When you’d talked yesterday there hadn’t been any indication that he was going to be out. He didn’t like to be really if he could help it and you certainly didn’t expect him to be attending such a small swimming event. He wasn’t interested despite being surrounded by so many ravenous fans and only tended to show up to the big showdowns last you checked.

 

            “I was wondering the same thing myself. When you said Iwatobi was going to meet up at a city tournament I didn’t know you meant _this_ one...How’d you get out here?”

 

            “Dad drove me.”

 

            He blinked in surprise, “Really? You must’ve been here a while then.”

 

            “Yes. Now answer my questions since I’ve answered yours.”

 

            He paused, wracking his brain for a moment before wincing a little and furrowing his brows apologetically, “My bad. Rin’s taking the first years out on a field trip to get their feet wet. He’s still kind of nervous to be leading to whole team by himself though so I came for moral support.”

 

            “Aww~! How cute~!” You cooed and cupped his cheeks in your hands.

 

            His lips twitched and his hands rose to gently pull yours away from his face. He didn’t release them though and instead held them lightly as he turned his (color) eyes to the pool. “I didn’t expect you to come…well, not _here_ since I didn’t expect that at all, but I mean to try and meet up with Iwatobi...”

 

            “Really? After you practically ordered me to?”

 

            “Since when have you ever listened to someone else’s advice?” He countered lightly.

 

            “Trust me, I don’t like it but I’m starting to see the need for it.”

 

            His lips curled up at the corners a little, “Spoiled little princess is turning into a queen now, is she?”

 

            You smirked at the reference to your childhood games of dress-up and make-believe.

 

            “‘ _Shut up before I banish you to the dungeons_ ,’” you recited to the best of your memory.

 

             He laughed and you joined in, pressing firmly against his side…He pressed back and kept hold of one of your hands even as he nudged you both to lean back over the guardrail. He reached for the cords dangling from your vest pocket and stuffed an earbud into his ear…

 

            “…” You stared at him for a long moment even as his own attention remained largely fixed on the goings-on down below. “Is that Rin’s?”

 

            His lips curled up a little in that small complex smile he was infamous for, “Well, he can hardly swim in it.”

 

            He jerked his chin to the starting blocks then and you turned your eyes to the poolside. A line of racers were heading out to take their positions.

 

             “He’s the one with the reddish-purple hair.” You nodded attentively and stared hard at the male. This was the first time you’d seen him despite how much Awa used to talk about him to you. Apparently he was a bit of an asshole though Nesure insisted he was just emotional…“He used to be obsessed with the guy with the black hair standing next to him. That’s Haru or rather Haruka Nanase…”

 

            Your attention was diverted to the scoreboard as it reset itself. A list of numbers flashed in a column. You’d learned from watching the last couple of races that these were the lane numbers. Next to those were the racers’ names and the schools or organizations they were associated with if it applied…You spotted Samezuka with Rin Matsuoka and Iwatobi with Haruka Nanase right next to each other halfway down the lineup.

 

 _When did they get here? Where are they?_ You thought to yourself absently even as your brother spoke quietly next to you, “Look. On the other side. They always choose the same spot in the stands…”

 

            You flicked your eyes further down the rows of seats, passed the breaks that separated your section from the next couple others…And there, right at the front, pressed against the Plexiglas barriers marking the end of the balcony, were a trio of people clad in baby-blue and white…

 

            “They’re about to start,” Nesure murmured as he watched Samezuka’s captain finish his stretches and done a black swim cap and goggles. The entire building seemed to grow quiet. Suddenly your ambient music sounded too loud in your ear…

 

            In the midst of it all, two lone voices pierced the air, “Come on, big bro!”

 

            “Haru! Give ‘em hell!”

 

            The silence stretched for a moment longer…the dam would surely break any minute now…and to your utter surprise you felt your heart start to flutter. You glanced at your brother to see if he felt it, too…but his face was as impassive and lazy as it always was…

            You wondered at the difference. After all, you’d been sitting through various races for almost two hours now…

           Maybe it was your music? It always got your blood racing when a song matched the mood. Or maybe it was because you recognized the people? They weren’t just faceless strangers or random kids splashing around in the water. One was a student from your school and, though you hadn’t been there long, you felt a distinct sort of connection to him just because of that. You’d seen him before, you were planning to approach him later, and as fellow students, there was a sense of pride that demanded he show up the rest of these people just to make Iwatobi look good. It was where _you_ went to school now after all.

           And the other: while he was someone you knew only by word of mouth he’d still managed to work his way into some semblance of importance if only because he was so deeply involved with your brother and his school. There was a strong desire to see both of them do well just because it meant something good for you and Nesure by association though you could admit that it was hard to pick a si—oh! There was the whistle…!

           They launched themselves from their starting points even before the sound faded away. A massive spout of water marked where each of them hit the water but Rin and Nanase--they’d long since moved on from their entry positions.

            They were still torpedoing underwater when the other racers broke the surface for air. Those two did so, too, of course but it was so seamless, so seemingly effortless. Natural, really.

            They immediately went into powerful stroking without missing a beat. As if they didn’t need the air everyone else breathed at all. As if they were _made_ for the water. Rin had begun speeding up as soon as he broke the surface of the water and was soon ahead of Nanase by almost two full body-lengths when they made the turn at the wall.

 

            “Whoa, he’s fast.”

 

            Nesure hummed and tilted his head purposefully. You recognized the motion; an attempt to tap down on the proud smirk he would have surely flashed otherwise. You pretended not to notice, “Yes, but Haru has a tendency to upstage Rin in just about everything they do. I think it’s a psychological thing: whenever Rin starts to acknowledge that he’s doing great, he ends up doing worse…”

 

            And true to his word, the gap between Samezuka and Iwatobi was starting to close. You couldn’t tell for sure but you didn’t think it was entirely Rin’s doing. He wasn’t slowing down as far as you tell…, “You don’t think that maybe Nanase just speeds up when _he_ realizes he’s not doing so great?”

 

            Nesure tipped his head the other way as he pondered that, “…It’s possible but unlikely…I mean I don’t know him very well--only the things that Rin tells me, really—but the thing that always pissed him off was that Haru never cared about winning or losing to him. He used to go on for weeks bitching--”

 

             “ _Excuse me?_ ” (At this point the nearest swimmer was a full three lengths behind the two and the gap only widened as they seemed to speed up even _more_!)

 

            “Sorry! That is to say, _complaining_ about how Haru always won without even having to really try and only lost because he didn’t care…or something like that. It was confusing…”

  

            He trailed off as the race drew to an end. It was short—barely over a minute long. The gap was almost nonexistent now between Nanase and Rin and always getting smaller...

 

            They pulled into a dead halt at the end of the pool and burst above the water’s surface moments before their times were displayed on the board. The other swimmers were still plowing away at the other end of the pool…

 

            Nesure jerked next to you, dislodging his borrowed earbud and staring at the times with wide eyes, “They’re identical…”

 

            “…Is that bad?”

 

            His expression settled after the initial shock wore off. He wrinkled his eyebrows and sighed wearily or was it affectionately? “You never know with Rin…In any case it’s very unlikely, almost impossible to happen. I mean, they time you down to the millisecond and they were still perfectly even…”

 

            He glanced at you, at your face and then your neck and smirked, “So…How do you feel?”

 

            Oh, that’s right. You were supposed to be sensing something, “U-Uh…Let’s see. I--”

 

            “You’ve got goosebumps and your pulse is racing.”

 

            “…” You lifted the sleeve of your sweater just to be certain…And sure enough your arm was covered in miniscule little mountains with teeny hairs acting as erect flags stabbed into their summits. A full-body shiver left you feeling tingly and oddly cold despite the almost suffocating humidity…You shook your head lightly to dispel it and grinned brightly at your brother, “That’s amazing…!”

 

            He laughed and pressed a soft kiss to your cheek before stepping away. He tugged on the hand he was still holding lightly before finally releasing it, “Come on. Let’s go.”

 

            “Go? Go where? Are they finished?” You asked, confused. Surely that wasn’t all? Didn’t the other people in the swim club swim, too? “That’s it?”

 

            “Nah. You’ve still got a 200 meter and maybe a three or four hundred one, too, if anyone’s still got the stamina. It’s actually kind of weird that they did Freestyle first since usually they start with Backstroke and then Breast and then Butterfly and _then_ Free…”

 

            “…I have no idea what you’re talking about and you have once again failed to answer my questions…” You sighed as you fell into step with your brother. He was leading you back through the main doors to the huge lobby only then he made a sharp turn. “The locker rooms?”

 

            “Rin’s going to want his jacket back.”

 

            “What, right _now_? At this _very_ instant?” You scowled.

 

            “Wait here, please. I don’t want to lose you to the crowd.” Without further ado he turned away and strolled into the hall leading to who knew where.

 

            "What crowd? Everyone's in _there_! Where  _we_ should be, too!"

 

            "Stop whining. It'll just be a second..." his voice carried loftily.

           

            You huffed and crossed your arms angrily. To respond back to him now--without following him into the boys' area altogether--would require shouting; something you would not lower yourself enough to do in public. That didn't mean you weren't plotting words. The whole point of you coming here was to see the swim club and you’d spent the last two hours watching everybody else _but_ them swim and now that they’re actually inthe water, you’re stuck standing out here…

             You growled and stomped your foot for lack of anything better to do. Truly the only option available was to wait. 

* * *

 

            “Sorry about that,” Nesure said lightly as he strolled easily back into the lobby with a tall maroon redhead at his side what felt like forever after.

            The white and red emblazoned black jacket was no longer on his back—replaced with a light grey unbuttoned pea coat that revealed the simple turtleneck he wore underneath.

 

            “You’re going to be if you made me miss anything important,” you hissed, mindful of the young man idling next to him. He was very obviously Rin Matsuoka. He was exactly as he’d been described to you though not nearly as aggressive and agitated. Five-ten was also _a lot_ taller in person than you’d originally thought.

 

            “Oh, relax. It’s only been like five minutes.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and nudged the taller male at his side. “Rin, this is--”

 

            “Yeah, I remember…Awa, right?”

 

            Your lips pulled up at the corners. That was so freaking cute! You liked him already. “That’s the other one. I’m Kifujin though you can call me [Full Name] as most people do.”

 

            “No kidding? Wow, you guys really do look exactly the same…”

 

            You rolled your shoulders lightly, “Yes, well, I’d say it comes with the territory. Just don’t fall for me, alright? I’d rather not have to kick Nesure’s ass over a boy.”

 

            Your brother scowled at you. You met his fiery gaze with one of greater intensity and even jutted your chin out a little for equal measure. You both knew that if it came down to a real fight, Nesure would win but that was hardly the point of your comment. “You brought it upon yourself now take me back or so help me I will divulge every painful little secret and memory I have on you to Matsuoka-san.”

 

            Rin furrowed his brows and shifted his weight, “Uh…listen, guys: I--”

 

            “You wouldn’t do that to me in any case," Nesure called your bluff and yet he started walking back towards the pool anyway. You preened and pranced along behind him.

 

            You smirked at the stunned look in Rin’s ruby eyes, “I take it he doesn’t often do what you ask.”

 

            Rin stared at you for a moment before turning his eyes away with a sigh, “Well, considering he’s usually right, I’ve stopped asking him to do things altogether. But you’re older than him. He’s supposed to do what you tell him to, isn’t he?”

 

            “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” You replied and he shifted a little uncomfortably, a hint of that legendary agitation dripping through. He reigned it in quickly though before you could get in trouble with Nesure for angering his partner which was not something you were expecting considering all the stories.

 

            "And why couldn't you come back yourself?" Nesure asked with casual irritation.

 

            Your eyes threatened to bug out in disbelief, "Has your memory failed you? And excuse me but why couldn't  _you_ come here on your own? I was perfectly fine where I was."

 

            Nesure didn't bother to respond to you. There was nothing he could say to cinch the win so there was no point in wasting the effort.  

 

            “Rin.” Said male looked up at the sound of his name. Nesure was standing at the railing, gesturing at something at his far left. “Aiichiro and the others are over there.”

 

            A red eyebrow twitched down in confused displeasure and his voice was a little rough when he next spoke, “You say that like you’re not coming with me.”

 

            “I’m not. I have to help [Name] with something first.”

 

            Rin was clearly conflicted, debating on whether or not he should make a big deal out of it. On one hand, Nesure had come solely for him because Rin had needed him. It would be wrong to run off. Except the person he was doing it for was you, his precious elder sister, and Rin knew for a fact it’d be incredibly improper on his end to step in the middle of that, too. There was no real compromise and he knew it.

            You wanted to help him out a little in such a bad position so you furrowed your own eyebrows and shifted your weight onto one foot, “…What exactly do I need help with?”

 

            “You wanted to talk to the Iwatobi guys, right?” Nesure asked. “I thought we could do that together.”

 

            “Oh. Yes. Like we needed to go fetch Rin together, too, only for you to change your stance on it five minutes later. Sure.” You were able to sound convincingly miffed so why was your heart pounding all of a sudden? You grimaced. Maybe you did need a bit more mollycoddling than you cared to admit...

 

            Nesure, the perceptive thing, merely smiled and huffed a laugh before strolling up to Rin. You couldn't hear what he'd likely mouthed to the tall redhead. Logic dictated it was something meant to be private judging by the way they’d drawn so closely together. A heavy blush settled over the captain’s frowning face when Nesure curled his fingers into his collar and murmured a bit louder, “Closer.”

             

            You gave Rin points for hesitating. He wasn't completely at your brother's mercy yet it would seem. His ruby eyes flicked to meet your own nervously but you stared back impassively. There was no such thing as privacy when it came to you three. Secrets were never a possibility from the very moment of your birth.

            Still, you were hardly a lecher. You did turn your gaze away before their lips met. No matter the circumstances, closely related or not, it was simply the polite thing to do. You made a point to also studiously ignored the messy sounds that resulted though you couldn’t keep the slight frown from pulling at your mouth...

 

            “Okay. Let’s go,” Nesure announced as he rejoined you. His tongue peeled out to drag the last remnants of Rin’s taste into his mouth. You wrinkled your nose and resisted the overwhelming urge to turn and see how the swim captain had reacted to the display of affection.

 

            “Honestly, is that _really_ necessary?”

 

            A satisfied gleam twinkled in his (color) eyes as he glanced at you, “Jealous?”

 

            “Incredibly!” You huffed. He burst out laughing.

 

            “Are you ready?” He asked as you both descended the steps towards the small group of swimmers.

 

            “Are you serious? How hard is it to tell someone you’re interested in something they like?”

 

            He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets, “Not that. I mean trying something new all by yourself for once.”

 

            “You make it sound like I’m some sort of invalid,” you complained and frowned at him.

 

            He frowned back, “Why are you being so hostile? I just meant that this is the first time any of us have branched out on our own. Awa does dance but we all do that cuz she did it. I fight but you do too because we all did that, too. This is the first time any of us has tried to do something the others aren’t even remotely interested in and I don’t know about you but it’s weird as hell for me to imagine.” Both you stared out at the water for a moment. “…You sure you’re ready?”

 

            “I thought you wanted me to join the swim club.”

 

            “Yeah but only if you really want t--”

 

            “Oh, my God, just hush. We’re not doing this again.” You were trying not to get irritated so you just cut the conversation short before that could happen and strode forward confidently.

 

            The two boys were so wrapped up in themselves that they didn’t immediately notice your approach. It wasn’t until you were almost right up on them that one of them happened to glance down at you out of reflex. You smiled politely, “Hello.”

 

            The bespectacled raven blinked his violet eyes briefly before turning to you fully when he understood that you were really talking to him, “Uh…Hi.”

 

            “Hello, there.” His companion, a ridiculously tall brunette, smiled softly. It reminded you vaguely of Nesure except your brother’s smiles were smaller, even quieter, and laced with thousands of hidden meanings. This young man just seemed genuinely pleased to be talking with you. “Did you need something?”

 

            “Yes, actually. You see, my name is [Full Name]. I just started at Iwatobi High School and I wanted to see about joining your swim club.”

 

            …

 

            Silence.

 

            Instead of frowning, you laced your fingers together loosely in front of your abdomen as you regarded them cooly, “Would…that be alright?”

 

            They stared at you blankly for a moment without saying anything. Then, as the words apparently sunk in, their eyes widened and they looked at each other with magnificent slack-jawed expressions.

 

            “Good heavens…” the paler one sighed breathlessly as his companion turned his green eyes away to regard you once again.

 

            “You really want to join?”

 

            “I...believe that’s what I said, yes. Or rather, I’d like to at least try. I’ve never actually swam before though,” you admitted, hoping that wouldn’t mess up your chances.

 

            The brunette smiled reassuringly, “Oh. Don’t worry about that. We can teach you.”

 

            “Yes. It’s not too difficult once you grasp the basic theory. With a little hard work, you’ll be swimming just as beautifully as the rest of us.”

 

            The brunette straightened suddenly and turned to his companion excitedly, “We have to tell Haru and Nagisa!”

 

            “Ah, yes! You’re right! But where are they? Haru’s race ended quite a while ago and Nagisa’s not up until after me--!”

 

            “He probably went to go find him.”

 

            “Well, I hope they come back soon. I want to be there when we tell them the good news!” They looked back at you again and grinned excitedly.

 

            The polite smile on your face was in sharp contrast to the mildness of your tone, “I still haven’t gotten your names…”

 

            “Oh! I’m terribly sorry!” The raven adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose after bowing deeply. “I’m Rei Ryugazaki, the swim club’s secretary.”

 

            “Sorry about that. We just weren’t expecting anyone to actually show up since it’s not really swimming weather yet. We got just a little carried away. I’m Makoto Tachibana. I’m a third year student and this club’s captain.”

 

            “It’s very nice to meet you,” they chorused and bowed.

 

            You returned it easily and gestured towards Nesure who was lingering patiently in the background, “While we’re still on introductions, I’d like you to meet my little brother, Nesure [L.Name]. He’s the one who referred me to you.”

 

            “Were you interested in joining, too?” Tachibana asked him when your brother stepped forward to stand beside you.

 

            “No. I think that would be against the rules.”

 

            ‘Not to mention Rin would kick your ass,’ your eyes seemed to say when you glanced at him. He shrugged almost unperceptively. ‘Well, he could certainly _try_.’

 

            “Oh? Why’s that?” Tachibana asked, curiously, breaking your silent conversation.

 

            “Is there a rule against siblings joining the same club?” Ryugazaki seemed skeptical even as he asked for confirmation.

 

            “I don’t think so,” his captain murmured back.

 

            “Onii-chan attends Samezuka Academy,” you explained.

 

            Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped again, “Oh! Well, I beg your pardon--”

 

            Nesure waved Ryugazaki’s concerns away easily, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not on the team. I just hang around for moral support. I don’t even like swimming.”

 

            The brunette chuckled good-naturedly, “Don’t let Haru hear you say that. He’s the vice-captain.” He explained.

 

            “I’ve heard of him. All of you, actually. You’re pretty popular topics at Samezuka.” Nesure shrugged. “I’ve actually seen you around a lot during joint practices you just didn’t notice me—Don’t apologize. It’s not like I wanted you to and besides it’s hardly possible to remember the names and faces of so many people dressed exactly alike when you’re half-submerged in water all the time…”

 

            Tachibana chuckled, “Well, yeah, I suppose that’s true.”

 

            “Hey! You guys!” Your attention was drawn to two figures running towards you. Or rather one was running while the other was being unceremoniously dragged along…“I found Haru! He was playing around in the showers!”

 

            “I wasn’t _playing_ , I was _actually_ showering--”

 

            “Hey, Rei! What are you still doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready to swim?” It was the blond boy who first tumblesaulted onto the stage. You remembered him just as vividly as the raven-haired young man he pulled behind him.

 

            “Never mind that for now! We have amazing news!”

 

            “He wants to join the swim club! Isn’t that great?”

 

            Another round of stunned silence met the proclamation. It lasted for only half a second but a lot happened in that tiny timeframe.

 

            For one, the smile on your face suddenly felt as fake as a heavy plaster mask. You were confused. Nesure was a little quicker than you and turned to you with furrowed brows as if to ask if he’d heard right. You didn’t get to do more than blink before your personal space was so precipitously invaded by the blond--

 

            “Are you for real? You really want to join?!” Your mouth opened though you had no idea what you meant to say. It didn’t seem to matter though because he whipped around and launched himself at the shorter of the black-haired males immediately after. “Haru! We got a new recruit!”

 

            Nanase turned to you with an unreadable, stoic expression. If you’d been a weaker woman you might have been reduced to a puddle of goo at such captivating blue eyes…“So what do we call you.”

 

            You quirked a brow at his rather brusque tone. Tachibana marked the expression and smiled nervously.

 

             “Don’t mind him.” He laughed awkwardly even as the other two males tried and failed to discreetly scold their vice-captain. He seemed wholly unconcerned with their words and still stared at you evenly.

 

            “Well?”

 

            You sniffed haughtily, “Fix your tone and then maybe I’ll ordain to answer.”

 

            There were various reactions to your statement. It was rather rude to address an upperclassman that way, after all. But you were a firm believer in earning respect and right now, he deserved very little. Those blue eyes widened in what you imagined was shock and that stone-faced mask slipped a little when his lips parted. Still he regained himself rather quickly and looked away sharply with only the faintest blush dusting his cheeks. You couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment or whether it was directed at you or himself but either way, you found you didn’t care. He seemed successfully cowed and that was enough to appease you.

 

            “Come on, Haru~!” The small blond whined as he latched onto his friend’s arm. “Stop being so mean!”

 

            “Is he always like that?” You asked your brother quietly. He seemed to be the only one not running around on an overcharged battery at the moment.

 

            “Who? You mean Haru or the little one because as I understand it, they’re both pretty much the same all the time.”

 

            “Hmm…well, we’re going to have to fix that.”

 

            “ _[Name]…_ ” Nesure hummed exasperatedly.

 

            “ _What_? I’m not going to _break_ anything…They just need to learn some manners, that’s all…”

 

            “[L.Name]-kun.” You frowned at being addressed that way but found you couldn’t stay angry when you saw the tender, kind expression and voice Tachibana was speaking to you with. “Would you mind introducing yourself to the rest of the team?”

 

            You wanted to refuse just on the grounds that Nanase had pissed you off but you couldn’t punish the rest of them for something he did so you resigned yourself to bowing again.

 

            When you straightened, you found a pair of sparkling magenta eyes darting excitedly between all the people gathered around from an impossibly cute, happy face, “Oh, you guys! This is perfect! He’s even got a super girly name like the rest of us! Aww, come on, Haru~! You have to let him join!”

 

            Your eyebrow twitched. So they hadn’t misspoke. They really thought you were a guy.

 

            “Mohfmp!!” You turned your eyes to your brother who suddenly choked on what sounded suspiciously like a guffaw.

 

            “Excuse me for a moment…” he wheezed and rushed away.

 

            You sighed and pressed a finger to your temple. You couldn’t even get mad at this point. There was just too much going on…

 

            You marked a faint chuckle—so out of place in the midst of this rambunctious unintelligible display of abandon—and glanced up.

            Tachibana met your eyes with his own green ones and smiled softly as he shrugged his shoulders.

            And you chuckled a little because really, what else was there to do at this point?

 

            “Quick! Rei!” A lot apparently. “You’ve gotta go down and swim your event before you’re disqualified! We can’t start slacking just because we got [Name]-chan. Don’t worry, we’ll still be cheering for you! Haru! You already did yours so you have to find Miss A and Gou and tell them to get the pool ready. There’s not a lot of time! Mako--!”

 

            “I don’t swim until last, Nagisa. Maybe I can help with--”

 

            “No, you can’t!” Nagisa wailed. “Haru sucks at cheering and I can’t do it all by myself. Plus, Rei might have to leave to help them with the pool and I still have to swim, too. If you leave, too, then who’s gonna stay here with [Name]-chan? We can’t leave him alone. We’d be bad senpais! Speaking of, hey, [Name]!”

 

            “A-Ah, yes?” You hadn’t banked on being addressed in his delegating. You didn’t think there was anything you could do to contribute just yet since you’d literally only just tentatively joined maybe five minutes ago…

 

            He frowned anxiously and moved forward. You watched in amazed astonishment as he clasped your hands together between his own and pulled them towards his own chest,  “Listen, I know it’s kind of last minute and it’ll be kind of late when we get out of here but…do you think you could come back to the school with us?”

 

            “You mean today?!” You asked. Your tone must have made him worry because a mark of sadness settled at his lips and he squeezed your hands a little harder.

 

            “Please? We had this really cool thing set up to show anybody who decided to check us out and so far you’re the only one who did.”

 

            You couldn’t help the smirk that curled at your mouth, “‘Cool’ as in that little stunt you pulled at the ceremony yesterday?”

 

            He grinned at you cheekily, “No, not quite like that.”

 

            Tachibana’s face exploded in a blush, “T-That was our manager’s idea…”

 

            “For the record: I opted for an action video.”

 

            You shook your head and firmly removed your hands from his own. “You did better with your demonstration. We were quite bored until you all showed up. And as for your question--”

 

            “Yeah?”

 

            “I will come.”

 

            “Ye-heah!!! Thanks, [Name]-cha—ack!” He pressed forward excitedly but you stopped him short with a firm palm laid flat against his chest. Honestly if common decency wasn’t something he had a grasp on, you could certainly teach him with physical cues…No doubt his ribs were hurting with the force of that simple gesture. You hoped you hadn’t compromised his swim though it was his own fault either way. No one had any business leaping towards you like that in a public space even if they didn’t know you were a girl.

* * *

 

 

 

             “You gonna tell ‘em?” Your brother asked a few hours later after everything had ended.

 

            “…Hmm?” You blinked and looked up at him from where you were resting in his lap on a random bench around Iwatobi High. You didn’t usually let yourself go so lax at school but there was literally no one else around to see you drop your guard. Not even the swim club was around. They’d all shut themselves up inside the clubroom almost forty minutes ago. “Tell who what?”

 

            “The Iwatobi guys that you’re _not_ a guy…”

 

            “Mmm…I don’t think so.”

 

            “What? Why?” You couldn’t be sure but you had a feeling this topic had been grating on him all afternoon. The ride back to your high school left him rather tense. You had a few good ideas as to why.

 

            For starters, Rin was busy. Nanase approached him after the event and apparently said something that suddenly tied up the redhead’s schedule…He’d bade Nesure return to the academy without him but Nesure wasn’t comfortable enough doing that. From what you could tell, he liked the members of the swim team as much as a person who hated swimming possibly could. That didn’t mean he wanted to be surrounded by the lot of them on all sides on a long bus ride home as they roughhoused without anyone there to distract him from it. Let alone the very person who’d asked him to come along to begin with. He’d used you and Iwatobi’s little surprise as an excuse to hang around the city a little longer but dusk was coming and Rin would surely be heading back soon. He’d have to either go when Rin called to inform him that he was done with whatever he needed to do or stay and wait with you to finish whatever it was you had to do here.

            It wasn’t really a choice for him. At the end of the day, you were still a girl and your brother was fiercely protective of you and he was not about to leave you alone surrounded in the dark with a bunch of guys who had a surprise for you in a pool on the off chance that they _did_ discover you had a vagina…

 

            “I think it’ll be interesting.”

 

            “[Name], now is hardly the time to play games--”

 

            “No. I’d say it’s exactly the perfect time especially since a board’s already been set up for me. I didn’t even have to lay any groundwork.”

 

            “And how are you going to pull this off, huh? Prance around in drag and start calling yourself ‘dude’ or something?”

 

            “Not at all. I just really want to see how long it takes them to figure it out.”

 

            “Well, considering it’s a swim club…”

 

            “Exactly. Look: what’s the problem, Nessie? ‘ _Why are you being so hostile?_ ’” You mocked playfully. Usually he was all for your experiments. It wasn’t like you indulged in them all that often after all.

 

            “I’m not it’s just…I’m a guy and I live with guys 24/7 and believe me, [Name], we’re a lot different when we don’t think girls are around. There are some things you just shouldn’t see especially considering how you are. And then if they find out you’re a girl while they’re in ‘guy mode’ then--”

 

            You frowned deeply, “That just says more about men if they can’t be decent without incentive.”

 

            “Oh, please, like you don’t switch up when you’re around only girls?”

 

            You huffed, “Certainly some girls do but _I_ don’t. That’s disgusting and a mark of poor class and upbringing. Do _you_?”

 

            He snorted and looked away, up at the dozens of trees peppered around the two of you, “I don’t have the energy.”

 

            “…You wouldn’t be lying to me because I’m your big sister, would you?”

 

            “What would be the point? You’d figure it out eventually. We practically read each other’s minds half the time. You know I was taking my morning shower yesterday and out of _nowhere_ I started craving strawberry mango ice cream--”

 

            You smirked, “Father told me he found a tiny pint of that in a store by his job yesterday morning. It was good.”

 

            “…Whoa. But you know what else? Awa sent me a new recipe to try out not even _five minutes_ after I got out…Guess what it was.” You burst out laughing. “I don’t even _like_ ice cream!”

 

            “Frozen yogurt’s better for you anyway. You don’t want to get fat.”

 

            “Off of _ice cream_?”

 

            “Well, I don’t know how these things work. My metabolism’s too high.”

 

            Silence stretched between you. The lack of a distraction drew your attention to just how long you’d been waiting outside. You were starting to get impatient. Had they forgotten about you? “What are they _doing_ in there?”

 

            Nesure sighed, just as tired, and crossed his arms, “I don’t know but they need to hurry up. It’s getting dark.”

 

            Just as he said that, the sound of soft footsteps coming closer reached your ears. It wasn’t coming from the club room. It was actually coming from behind you. Nesure tensed and you rose to your feet. If it was some sort of teacher you’d most likely run. It wasn’t a problem for _you_ to be on campus despite how odd it was to still be here but Nesure could get in trouble for trespassing if they wanted to be that way. You doubted it was another student. The school was deserted. The only other possibility was a creeper who’d heard the two of you talking and decided to investiga—

 

            “…Rin?”

 

            The figure stopped in his tracks and looked up, surprised, “Nesure?” Then he frowned. “What are you doing here?”

 

            “I’m here with my sister. What are _you_ doing here? I thought you had something to do.”

 

            “I _did_.” Clearly the accusation wasn’t appreciated. “Haru told me he had something important to talk about. Said that I should meet him here at dusk.” He raised a thin eyebrow pointedly. Your brother took his cue.

 

            “They told [Name] they had something important to show her as a new recruit so we came back with them but we’ve been locked out here for almost an hour now…”

 

            “Wait, new recruit?” His glittering jewels for eyes flicked to you and raked over your form analytically. “You’re going to swim?”

 

            You tilted your head and lifted one shoulder, “I’m going to test it out. Hopefully. If they _ever_ let us _in_.” Rin shook his head and stepped forward.

 

            “Here,” he said and stood in full view should anyone be peeking out the tiny windows.

 

            “Yo, it’s me. You in there?” He called. There weren’t any lights or any sign of movement. Had they ditched you?

 

            “Let’s do this...! Whatever _this_ is…” Still nothing. You crossed your arms, rather unimpressed but Rin wasn’t quite so easily deterred. “Heh. Great. Way to chicken out of your own showdown…”

 

            You followed after him as he climbed the steps to the pool entrance and reached for the doorknob, “It was locked last time we checked.”

 

            He glanced at you but tried it anyway. All of you were rather shocked when the old thing actually turned and opened. You and your brother edged forward to crowd behind him, anxious to get this whole thing done with…

            …but then Rin gasped and was yanked through the door!

            You screamed out of pure reflex and launched forward to snag him and drag him back outside but your brother had had the same idea. You might have been able to help him if he hadn’t wanted to risk you getting captured, too. He rammed the back of his shoulder into your chest to keep you from coming in, “I _told_ you--! You’re _insane_ if you think I’m going to leave you to deal with them on your own!”

 

            You stumbled back with a pained hiss and growled at him, “What if it’s not them? What if whoever it is got them, too? You think I’m going to stand here and do nothing?! _Get out of the damn way--_!”

 

            “Leave no survivors!” Someone shouted imperiously from inside the gloom.

 

            “Oh, fuck _that_! _Nesure_!” You lunged forward.

 

            “[Name]? **_Rin_**!” Your brother called as he lost his grip. You could hear the redhead struggling and threatening bodily harm loudly—so loudly that you couldn’t make out the other voices speaking quickly to each other.

 

            You hesitated, quite unsure of what to do! You felt like one of those people in the scary movies. Those ones you always laughed at and said were dumb for chasing after their friend who was stupid enough to get sucked into the unknown. And yet now that you were faced with exactly that, could you really be so heartless? Could you really run away just to save your own skin?

            Logically, it was the smartest thing to do. You could go get help. Bring in reinforcements. The whole cavalry even. But was there time?  Besides, you and your brother weren’t exactly damsels. You could totally kick ass. All you needed was to _see_ where they were.

            Nesure had much the same idea and had already charged in after his boyfriend. You scowled and charged after _him_. Your family would _never_ forgive you if you let the baby of the bunch get killed.

            It was hard to tell what exactly was happening. There was a faint light coming in from the other side of the room but there were too many shadows in the way to make out any definite details. You could make out two giant figures practically running towards the light. They were cradling a smaller one between them and you assumed from his flailing feet that it was Rin.

 

            “ _Somebody better explain this shit to me!_ ” Rin growled menacingly. There was no mistaking the way his voice trembled though. He was scared. Fuck, _you_ were scared. But that just meant you were about to get angry and that was bad for _everyone_ involved.

 

            “I’m gonna cause some _major_ damage if you don’t get this thing off--!”

 

            His words pulled up short was he was suddenly released. His captors stepped aside. Maybe they sensed the danger they were in. They were smart, at least. You were already plotting how you were going to rip out their spins and grind them into dust when Nesure suddenly lurched to a short stop, too, with a grunt.

            You had better reflexes than most and managed to, at the last moment, twist to the side to avoid crashing into him. You couldn’t quite slow down in time though so you still ended up more beside Rin than behind him. Out of pure instinct you slid into a fighting stance—

            --only to realize it was totally unnecessary.

 

            Nobody moved. No body spoke. Everyone--and a quick glance confirmed that it _was_ the swim team and that no one had been kidnapped or tortured by either a psycho or some ancient rage-monster—simply stood and watched Rin with a gentle smile as he stared, quite lost for words at an admittedly gorgeous sight.

            The sun was almost gone but the last rays of incredibly rich golden light were more than enough to set the pools blue waters blazing orange. All along the edge of the pool were cherry blossom petals—so many that they were piled high into dense mounds that had no choice but to stretch their bases towards the middle of their enclosure. Clearly they had done this. The sakura trees themselves were too far away to have done this on their own for one. There were no green leaves or brown twigs littering the massive pink billows either and the cement around the edges of the pool were perfectly bare.

 

            “Whoa…” You breathed. Honestly it was all you could do, all you could say. Your heart was still racing and your mind was still trying to process the last thirty seconds of what you thought was the end of somebody’s life but actually turned out to be well…not. Your muscles were still tense despite your demands that they relax…Your breathing was shallow and your skin tingled and throughout it all you stared, quite hypnotized by the beauty displayed before you…Yeah, you were..yeah…You needed a moment.

 

            You glanced at your brother who looked rather like a zombie as he trudged off to the side and threw himself against the chain-link fences. You couldn’t stop your quiet, amused giggle as you slowly made your way over to him. Your legs were shaking and felt like jelly after such a hard and intense sprint but they got the job done, “Hey…you alright there?”

 

            He simply threw his head back and groaned. In the same motion he turned and flopped onto his ass so he could press his back against the bright green metal…Your giggling turned into outright laughter and you stroked a hand across his hair. He leaned into the contact gratefully and closed his eyes, his hand clutching at his heart, “…I can’t breathe…”

 

            You grinned brightly, joyfully, and subconsciously marked that you hadn’t done such a thing in a long time. “You gotta admit that was kind of fun.”

 

            He glared at you, “ _Fun_? You call _that_ fun? I thought Rin was going to _die_ and then I thought _you_ were going to die and I just knew _they_ were going to die as payment for it all…and then it all turns out it was just a fancy intro for a _pool_.” He practically spat. “What the _fuck_ , man…”

 

            “Aww…” You poked his cheek. “You’ll be alright.”

 

            “Hey, you guys, okay?” Nesure’s (color) eyes swept up to a spot above your shoulder. You turned your head. It was Tachibana. He was smiling but you could hear the concern in his voice. You smiled and tipped your head.

 

            “Yes, we’re fine. Thank you.”

 

            “Speak for yourself…” Nesure griped and tossed his head to the side so he wouldn’t have to look at anyone. Your smile turned into a smirk.

 

            “Sorry for scaring you...” A girl—wait, that was _the_ girl, their manager—said sweetly. “We’re just so excited and they wanted to surprise you and welcome you properly by showing you the pool. We got permission to open it early and everything…”

 

            Your lips parted a little and for a moment you were rather speechless. They did all this just for you? It was astonishing. You’d never had such kindness shown to you by complete strangers. What did that mean?

 

            “Then what’s Rin doing here?” Nesure almost snapped. You yanked on his braid with a frown. Clearly he was not feeling so warm and fuzzy and couldn’t yet bring himself to act decently yet. You didn’t blame him but you also couldn’t let him be so rude, either…

 

            Tachibana smiled easily, quite undisturbed, “Well, he’s always wanted to swim in a pool full of cherry blossoms. We thought he would appreciate it. Besides, we didn’t want to let all this hard work go completely to waste. No offense, but we were hoping for more than just one new member…”

 

            “Oh, I see,” you nodded conversationally and peeked around the two to watch as the remaining three tried to encourage Rin to jump in. He wasn’t being very cooperative but Ryugazaki and Hazuki weren’t deterred.

 

            Or rather Ryugazaki wasn’t. As soon as the blond noticed you staring, he abandoned his objective and sprinted over, “Hey! So? Do you like it?”

 

            “Yes, it’s lovely. Thank you.” He beamed and opened his mouth to most likely say something else but flinched.

 

            Your brow started to twitch in confusion but then you felt it. A searing cold drop of water smacked against your cheek. Behind you Nesure climbed to his feet and gazed up at the sky…

 

            Rain--belting down as if someone in Heaven had just tripped over a bucket.

 

            “Aahh!” The redheaded female cried as she stood up and fled for cover.

 

            Hazuki scrunched up his face and followed after her, “It’s freezing!”

 

            Everyone scattered. Rin, Tachibana, and Nanase took a little awning made of metal to the side of the pool. It wasn’t big enough for all of them though so the rest fled to watch the rain from the club room doorway.

 

            “Nesure! What are you doing? Get over here!” Rin demanded of your brother. “Come on, you’re gonna catch a cold!”

 

            You sighed and rose slowly to your feet, “Shall we?”

 

            “Nah…Feels good.” Nesure hummed as he leaned against the fence and closed his eyes against the pouring rain.

 

            You pursed your lips but didn’t press it. It was just water after all and you were already wet…

 

            “…How’s that song go?”

 

            “What?”

 

            “Y’know the one. It was about rain.”

 

            “There are hundreds of songs that mention rain. What, you mean: _Here comes the rain again. Falling on my head like a memor--?_ ”

 

            “No, no. Not that one. It was something like--”

 

            “ _Purple rain, purple rain~_? That was a good one--”

 

            “It was but it’s not that either. A girl sang it.”

 

            “… _I can't stand the rain 'gainst my window. Bringing back sweet memories…_ ”

 

            He flipped his hand. You stopped singing and frowned. He noticed your rising irritation and elaborated, “Awa used to dance to it all the time and make us do backup. It was like, _eh, eh, eh, eh, eh-eh…_ ”

 

            “Oh, my— _Umbrella_?” He stared at you blankly. You sighed long-sufferingly despite the smile that threatened to pull at your lips. “ _You have my heart, and we’ll never be worlds apart_ \--?”

 

            “Yes! That one!”

 

            You laughed.

 

            “Sing it.” You quirked an eyebrow. He grinned. “Come on! I’ll even dance with you.”

 

            He pushed away from the fence and started wiggling his hips in a poor representation of his true talent. You tossed your head back and laughed, “Fine but you’re singing with me.”

 

            He lifted his shoulder and watched your face intently for the cue to start…

 

            “Do you even remember the wor—ow! Fine, _fine_! Okay. Ready? One, two, three…”

 

            “ _You have my heart. And we’ll never be_ \--[Name]!” He pushed you away when you opened your mouth and sang something entirely different. What could you say? You didn’t want to sing that one!

 

            “ _Remember that you’re gone~_ ” You tried not to laugh at his frustrated blush as you continued singing. You weren’t very successful. His pouting combined with the rain made him look like some sort of cute, depressed, wet animal. “ _I wondered where the sun went…_

 

            “ _The rain is_ falling _now…_ ” He smiled a little at the rain reference and loosened up a little. You grinned and snagged his wrist. “ _Hey-yeah~_ ” You spun him out away from the fence and started waving your hands in the air and twisting your hips…

 

            “ _And I’m awake! On this…Rainy Day! And I’m…Watching as_ my _tears fall down the window pane. Yea-yeah!_ ” He fell into your random jumping and spinning as easily as only close siblings could… “ _Didn’t I, baby…Treat you right? And I_ watch _the rain; it makes us pure again. OoOoOoh…Ooh-Ooh-Oh…Oh Whoaaaa-oao_ ~”

 

            “Okay and now you’re going to come in with _hooo_ ~ and hold it, alright? Yeah! Like that… _I tried to come and see you…But you won’t let me in~_ ”

 

            “ _Let me in~_ ” He echoed. You whipped your head around to grin at him encouragingly.

 

            “Yes! Now: _I know we’ve had our moments…But can we start again~ Hey-yeah~_ _And_ \--”

 

            “-- _I’m awake! On this...Rainy Day_!” Your voice shook around your laughter as your brother joined in on the chorus.

 

            He smiled softly at your smile as he swiped a hand down his face to rid it of all the water making it hard to see, “I like that one.”

 

            “Janel Parrish.”

 

            “Are you idiots done yet? It’s not the middle of summer, you know!”

 

            You scowled and started to get offended but Nesure just sighed, “Haru’s said something to piss him off again.”

 

            “Really? How can you be sure?” You eyed Rin critically from where you stood.

 

            “He’s using that gravelly, fussy tone he does when he’s frustrated or confused and Haru’s pretty much the only person who makes him feel _that_ unsure of himself…”

 

            “Sounds like you’re in for a handful.”

 

            He hummed, unperturbed, “Well, it’s no more than usual.”

 

            “Still, I think we should go. Before he gets upset enough to rupture something…” The redhead was seething so intensely you imagined you saw his fists vibrating. Nesure hesitated. “I mean, _I_ don’t particularly care but _you_ have to go home with him…”

 

            Nesure winced, “Oh, that’s right. I’ve still gotta take you home. Do you think the rain will stop?”

 

            “Of course it will. It’s just a matter of whether or not it’ll stop anytime soon…” You said as you wandered closer to the three seniors—well two since Nanase was just staring at you impassively—beckoning you over.

 

            As soon as you were within range, Rin’s arm shot out and snagged Nesure’s collar. With a ridiculously fast, sharp jerk, your brother practically flew into his arms where the redhead promptly began fussing over him; calling him an idiot and complaining about getting wet and pretending not to care when the smaller male began shivering against him…

 

            You smiled to yourself even as you brought up your hands to start squeezing the water from your clothes.

 

            “That probably wasn’t the best idea, [L.Name]-kun.”

 

            You glanced up at Tachibana from the corner of your eyes before looking back out over the flooding pool, “Well, it was hardly _my_ idea.”

 

            Nesure chuckled, “Are you cold?”

 

            “…” You stared at him for a moment. He had by this point buried his face into Rin’s chest and snaked his arms around the redhead’s back under his sports jacket. The chill didn’t seem to be affecting him at all but you were covered with goosebumps and trying your darndest not to break down into shivers. It dawned on you then that he could afford to dance in the early spring’s freezing rain. He had his own personal heater waiting for him when he was done. You were not quite so lucky and should have sought shelter with the others much sooner. You didn’t know if he’d had that in the back of his mind or not but you decided to be honest all the same, “A little.”

 

            “We should head inside. It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon…” Nanase said and sidestepped around everyone to do just that.

 

            The other two seniors moved to follow him and you fell into step beside Tachibana. Hazuki waved his hands high in the air when he noticed the five of you hurrying over, “Come on! You can do it!”

 

            Ryugazaki eyed his companion and quirked a brow, “You realize they’re not engaged in any particularly grueling task...”

 

            “Don’t be a killjoy, Rei.” Hazuki chided before striking a pose when everyone made it inside half a second later. “Yay, whoo! You did it! Good job!”

 

            Tachibana chuckled at the treasurer’s antics before moving over to the shelves of mostly empty cubies, “[L.Name]-kun, come here, would you?”

 

            You glanced his way…

            …but so did your brother.

            Tachibana blinked then touched the back of his neck sheepishly, “Oh. Right.”

 

            He chuckled and you closed your eyes in resignation, “You can call me by my first name if that’s easier.”

 

            “Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to…” You furrowed your eyebrows. It wasn’t like you were especially _glad_ someone you hardly knew would be calling you by something so personal but he didn’t have to decline so brazenly. He marked your expression and rushed to elaborate. “I mean--! That is…! Your brother goes to Samezuka so he won’t be around much, right? Not that that would be a problem, of course! Except--!”

 

            Hah, so he wasn’t the best with words. You’d have to remember that. Your affronted feelings trickled away.

 

            “It’s fine. Really.”

 

            “…” Tachibana breathed a sigh of relief and smiled warmly. A moment later he held out a small piece of fabric to you. “In that case, call me Makoto.”

 

            Your eyebrows raised as you took the cloth—a tiny towel—from his hands subconsciously, “Are you sure?” He was your senior after all, and not by just one year like Ryugazaki or Hazuki.

 

            Tachibana laughed softly and nodded his head, “Everyone else does. You should dry off as much as you can. You don’t want to catch a cold when school’s only just started.”

 

            “…If you’re sure.” He didn’t say anything to refute your statement. You nodded lightly, admittedly a little thrown by someone who seemed so genuinely gentle and kind…You liked him. “Alright then…Thank you, Makoto-san.”

 

            “Oh! You can call me by my first name, too! Something like ‘Nagisa-senpai’. Or just ‘senpai’ or just ‘Nagisa’! That’s okay, too, though Gou sometimes calls me ‘Nagi’. So I guess you could call me ‘Nagi-kun’ or ‘Nagi-chan’, if you wanted. I don’t care. Ooh! What about--”

 

            You peeked out from beneath the towellete you were wiping your face with and inclined your head. You didn’t think he’d stop talking otherwise, “As you wish.”

 

            “I…won’t mind if you call me Rei.”

 

            Nagisa’s jaw dropped and he whipped around to face the taller male, “ _What_? But it took me _forever_ to be able to call you by your first name!”

 

            “Technically you started calling me that right away and without my permission no less. In any case, it’s not my preferred course of action but I’d hate to seem inhospitable to our newest member...”

 

            “If it makes you more comfortable to call you by your last name, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t take offense since I would prefer much the same if the circumstances were different.” You noticed his slight hesitation and frowned. “…Or perhaps something not quite as impersonal? How’s…Ryu-senpai or Ryu-san for now?”

 

            His violet eyes widened and seemed to sparkle behind his glasses. If you didn’t know any better, you’d also swear he was blushing a little…Still his smile was bright and undeniably pleased, “That will do just fine until we get to know each other a little better.”

 

            “Excellent.” You paused and turned your eyes coolly to the remaining male. “And you?”

 

            He gazed at you and the look in his hard blue eyes was discouraging. After your minor confrontation earlier, you’d ordained to ignore him; placing him firmly in the group of people you’d spend extra energy just to pretend didn’t exist. He, however, had done you one better. It was as if the snub before had never happened—no false anger nor indifference. He was literally completely and genuinely apathetic. You could have been a piece of plain furniture for all that he noticed you.

 

            “We all just call him ‘Haru’ since he hates his first name,” Makoto supplied helpfully.

 

            You nodded your head. Honestly it wasn’t like you hadn’t heard them talking to each other. It was just different when you were expected to address them, too. As it was, even though you’d only ever known him as Haru in your mind, it didn’t seem even remotely appropriate to address him as such, “I think I’ll stick to Nanase.”

 

            Said raven simply closed his eyes and turned away. You frowned but decided not to pursue it.

 

            “Hey, where are you going, Haru?” Gou asked as she followed after the retreating male for a few paces.

 

            “Home. There’s nothing else to do today.” It was such a simple answer, almost a statement of the obvious and yet no one else had even consider the thought of leaving before he had. It was mildly embarrassing actually—this pointless lingering. The event was over, there were no club activities scheduled, and even if there were, the rain had affectively killed all motivation to actually do it. There was homework, and dinner, and bathing, and all manners of trivial daily obligations of course but those couldn’t get done if the lot of you were shuffling your feet at school for no reason…

 

            You pursed your lips when the others agreed easily. They were probably used to being schooled in the matters of common sense by the raven.

 

            “Come on, Gou. I’m taking you home before we head back.” Matsuoka said to his sister. The redheaded girl gasped and beamed excitedly at the prospect. Rin looked away from her show of exuberance to glance at you. “You’re coming, too, right? I mean you might as well.”

 

            “Sure.” You agreed before looking around for the right place to set your borrowed towel…

 

            “Here, [Name]-kun. I’ll take that,” Makoto said and held out his hand lightly. You were almost reluctant to part from it. For such a small thing, it absorbed _a lot_ of water. Still, as Nanase had so abstractly pointed out, the day was over and it was finally time to go home.

            You were looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so disappointed at myself for adding in that music scene but considering their past history (that hasn't been posted here yet, I know. Sorry! It's the way my mind works) it _had_ to happen. It won't be so tacky once the series is done and if it wasn't tacky to you then yay! At least I wrote it bearably!  
>  I might add more to this chapter to really flush out the reader's relationships--maybe do a spin-off chapter or something about Nesure and Rin after they drop off the girls. Maybe go on a mini-date or something. I don't know--but for now I think it's workable.  
> As usual, I ask that you point out any mistakes you find. I'll be going over it myself multiple times but at 1am, all these words, periods, and commas are starting to run together...  
> Anyway, I'm rambling so I'll stop. I think that's all I have for you at the moment.  
> Thanks again for reading! See you next time.


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